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Published monthly by the 

New York State Education Department 

BULLETIN 339 MAY 19 OS 


New York State Library 

Melvil Dewey Director 


Bulletin 94 

LIBRARY SCHOOL 19 

INDEXING 


PRINCIPLES, RULES AND EXAMPLES 


PAGE 

Importance . 465 

Unalterable rules impossible ... 466 

Plan.466 

Codes.;. 466 

Index defined. 467 

Alphabetic vs classified indexes 467 

Indexes to sets. 467 

Terms. 468 

Fulness and character . 468 

Headings. 470 

Modifications.475 

Cross reference. 480 

Page references . 481 

Mechanical methods. 483 

Marking proof. 484 

Writing slips.487 

Verifying . 489 


PAGE 


Alphabeting slips.489 

Arrangement of modifications. . 490 
Arrangement of cross references 493 

Editing. 493 

Forms of printing . 495 

Copying. 497 

Pasting. 499 

Final preparation for printer... 499 

Proofreading . 500 

Indexing periodicals. 500 

Rules for form of heading. 505 

Rules for author and title. 509 

Rules for alphabeting.512 

Examples of indexes. 515 

Examples of type and style.... 516 

Reading list on indexing. 523 

Index. 525 


ALBANY 

NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 

1905 


Ls2im-Mrs-aooo 


Price 15 cents 
































STATE OF NEW YORK 




EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 


Regents of the University 
With years when terms expire 

1913 Whitelaw Reid M.A. LL.D. Chancellor . . . New York 

1906 St Clair McKelway M.A. L.H.D. LL.D. D.C.L. 

Vice Chancellor .Brooklyn 

1908 Daniel Beach Ph.D. LL.D.Watkins 

1914 Pliny T. Sexton LL.D.- .Palmyra 

1912 T. Guilford Smith M.A. C.E. LL.D.Buffalo 

1907 William Nottingham M.A. Ph.D. LL.D. . . Syracuse 

1910 Charles A. Gardiner Ph.D. L.H.D. LL.D. D.C.L. New York 

1915 Charles S. Francis B.S.Troy 

1911 Edward Lauterbach M.A.New York 

1909 Eugene A. Philbin LL.B. LL.D.New York 

IQ16 Lucian L. Shedden LL. B.Plattsburg 


Commissioner of Education 

Andrew S. Draper LL.D. 

Assistant Commissioners 

Howard J. Rogers M.A. LL.D. First Assistant Commissioner 
Edward J. Goodwin Lit.D. Second Assistant Commissioner 
Augustus S. Downing M.A. Third Assistant Commissioner 


Secretary to the Commissioner 

Harlan H. Horner B.A. 

Director of Libraries and Home Education 

Melvil Dewey LL.D. 

Director of Science and State Museum 

John M. Clarke LL.D. 

Chiefs of Divisions 

Accounts, William Mason 
Attendance, James D,. Sullivan 
Examinations, Charles F. Wheelock B.S. 
Inspections, Frank H. Wood M.A. 

Law, Thomas E. Finegan M.A. 

Records, Charles E. Fitch L.H.D. 
Statistics, Hiram C. Case 








State Library Albany N. Y. Mar. i, igo^ 


Hon. A. S. Draper 

Commissioner of Education 

Dear sir: The accompanying brief treatise on indexing is sub¬ 
mitted for publication in the Library School series. It has been 
prepaied by Miss Martha T. Wheeler, instructor in indexing, 
with assistance from Miss Elva L. Bascom, and is the outgrowth 
of several years practical work in making and supervising in¬ 
dexes to Regents publications and experience in teaching the 
subject in the Library School. The bulletin will not only meet 
school needs but enable us to answer much more satisfactorily 
than hitherto possible the many inquiries coming to us about 
principles and practice of indexing. 

Melvil Dewey 

Director 

State of New York 

Education Department 

COMAIISSI oner's room 

Approved for publication Feb. j. igoj 




Commissioner of Education 









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New York State Education Department 


New York State Library 

Melvil Dewey Director 


Bulletin 94 
LIBRARY SCHOOL 19 


INDEXING 

PRINCIPLES, RULES AND EXAMPLES 

Importance. The importance of book indexes is so widely recog^- 
nized and the want of them so frequently deplored that no argu¬ 
ment in their favor seems necessary. There is however too little 
appreciation on the part of publishers and authors of the value 
and difficulty of good indexing. In a valuable paper on “ Index¬ 
ing ” published in Library Journal 17:406, afterward separately 
reprinted but now out of print, J. B. Nichols says: 

A book without an index is like a locked chest without the key; 
each may contain valuable treasures, but neither can be gotten 
into. The sense of insecurity and uncertainty which the student 
feels in the use of an index on which he can not rely is something 
very annoying. Nothing impairs the usefulness of a book like the 
lack of a proper index; and nothing enhances its value so much 
as being provided with one. 

There are few if any branches of clerical work that require 
higher intellectual faculties for their satisfactory and successful 
performance than general indexing. To index a branch of knowl¬ 
edge satisfactorily requires a considerable knowledge of it, of its 
classifications, of its synonyms, of its species and genera. General 
qualities required are good taste, good judgment, and a habit of 
conciseness and of liberal and comprehensive thought. Above all, 
what'may be called the “index sense ” is required—that is, the 
ability to feel instinctively, at the first glance, what and how sub¬ 
jects should be indexed in all their ramifications; the sense that is 
in touch with searchers, and appreciates just how subjects will be 
looked for and how to arrange so that they can most readily be 
found. Experience is the only school in which these qualifications 
can be gained. 

It is remarkable, in view of the manifest usefulness of good 
indexes, how many books there are unprovided with them; and 
how many more are provided with indexes of an inferior kind which 
are inaccurate, insufficient and unreliable. The trouble is not 
that the importance of reliable indexes is not generally appreciated, 
but that the work of indexing is left to inexperienced and unsci- 




4G() NF:\V YORK STATE LIBRARY 

entific hands. It is not generally recognized that a really good 
index can not be made except by persons with special skill and 
special experience; that indexing is an art in itself, and it is un¬ 
reasonable to expect satisfactory results from untrained hands. 
Not even authors are qualified to index their own work, unless 
they happen to possess familiarity with the principles and practice 
of indexing. None but the author, it is true, has such an intimate 
knowledge of the subject—and such knowledge is essential in in¬ 
dexing; but if he lack those special qualifications which are requi¬ 
site in work of this kind, he can not be depended on to make a good 
index. 

A book now on the market and in its ninth edition contains in 
the index the item “Hell on earth on the page referred to is an 
account of persons kept in a constant state of anxiety and terror, 
the expression quoted being used to indicate in a forcible way the 
mental condition. Among other curiosities in the same index are 
the following items: “Maxim,” “Quotations at beginning of 
chapters,” “Something to avoid.” More absurdly useless entries 
it would be difficult to make; articles and prepositions and con¬ 
junctions might as well be indexed; and yet similar instances of 
fault}^ indexing could be multiplied indefinitely. 

Unalterable rules impossible. It is not possible to devise rules 
which will secure satisfactory treatment in all cases, but a few 
general principles may be stated which will aid the indexer able 
to apply them with good judgment to specific problems. The 
indexing problem changes with each new book undertaken. To 
meet the needs of different classes of seekers and to suit various 
types of books, rules entirely satisfactory in one case must be 
varied in the next and perhaps ignored or even reversed for a 
third. Yet while the indexer who follows the same rules under 
all circumstances must inevitably do some inferior work, an index 
compiled without a basis of well formulated rules is almost worse 
than none. 

Importance of plan. In each case a well considered and well 
defined plan must be determined on in advance and followed 
throughout. This is necessary to secure completeness and con¬ 
sistency, to avoid misleading searchers, and to keep the size of the 
index within proper limits. The length of an index depends on 
the minuteness and detail to which the subjects are indexed, and 
on the fulness of the entries. It is necessary in advance to fix a 
degree of minuteness and detail to which the work shall be carried, 
and to settle the style of the entries. Nichols 

Codes. Many indexing rules are practically identical with those 
used in preparing library catalogues, and forms of statement in 
the following pages as well as illustrative examples have in many 
cases been taken from C: A. Cutter’s Rules for a Dictionary Cata¬ 
logue and Melvil Dewey’s Library School Rules and Simplified 
Library School Rules. In these manuals many more rules may be 


JUN 21 1905 

D.oro. 








INDEXING 


467 


found with illustrations, which would aid in compiling indexes to 
bibliographies, genealogies and other works comprising many 
names, though often inapplicable to general subject indexing. 
Statements and illustrations are also borrowed from Mr Nichols's 
paper already quoted. 

Index defined. An index, as defined in the Century Dictionary, 
is “a detailed alphabetic (or rarely, classified) list or table of topics, 
names of persons, places, etc. treated or mentioned in a book or 
series of books, pointing out their exact positions in the volume.” 
The word is derived from the Latin indicare, to point out, to show. 
Nichols gives the following definition: ‘‘An index is a table or 
list of references, arranged usually in alphabetical order, to sub¬ 
jects, names and the like, occurring in a book or other matter.” 
W: I: Fletcher, who has had long experience as editor in chief of 
Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, in a paper on ‘‘Indexing ” 
prepared for the world’s library congress at the Columbian Expo¬ 
sition, after drawing a distinction between catalogues, bibliogra¬ 
phies and indexes, says: ‘‘An index is an arrangement (generally 
alphabetic but sometimes classified) of the analyzed contents of 
one book, or of the books in a certain class, and is intended to 
show in what books and in what places in those books information 
is to be found on certain subjects.” 

Alphabetic vs classified indexes. All these authorities imply that 
the classified index is exceptional. In ordinary book indexes it is 
generally conceded to be inconvenient and few will question the 
dictum of the veteran indexer, H. B. Wheatley [What is an Index? 
p. 56] that ‘‘an index should be one and indivisible, and not broken 
up in several alphabets.” Curious exceptions may be found, 
which serve to emphasize the value of this rule. Huchins’s Dorset, 
brought out in a new edition in 1874, has eight separate indexes, 
i. e. I Places; 2 Pedigrees; 3 Persons; 4 Arms; 5 Blazons; 6 Glos- 
sorial; 7 Domesday; 8 Inquisitions. A work in six quarto vol¬ 
umes, entitled Canada: an Encyclopaedia oj the Country, is provided 
with a slender index volume divided into no less than 23 sections,. 
II of which are arranged alphabetically, the remaining 12 being 
contents grouped under class headings and arranged in order of 
occurrence. 

Indexes to sets. A work in several volumes should have an 
index to the whole in one alphabet at the end of the final volume. 
It is convenient to have the volumes also separately indexed, if 
that can be afforded and will not unduly increase their size. Nich¬ 
ols proposes as the ideal that each volume be provided with the 
complete index to the set. 


468 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


DEFINITIONS OF TERMS 

Subject. The subject is any event, place, person, fact, relation, 
topic, idea, or whatever is an object of thought and may become 
an object of search. 

Entry. The entry is the word, phrase or combination of phrases 
expressing the subject or idea, together with any necessary modi¬ 
fication and the page reference indicating where it may be found 
in the text. The following example is taken from the very full 
index to Eggleston’s Beginners of a Nation: 

Sabbath-keeping, early Puritan ideal of, 127 

Heading. The heading is the word or words chosen to express 
the subject or idea, and stands at the beginning of the entry, 
determining its alphabetic position. In the above entry, the head¬ 
ing “Sabbath-keeping” represents the subject. 

Modification. A modification is a word or phrase following the 
heading to indicate the character of information given in the passage 
referred to, or otherwise limit its meaning. In the entry above 
“ early Puritan ideal of” is the modification. 

Subhead. A subhead, or secondary heading, is a modification 
which is itself repeatedly modified, and therefore becomes the head 
of a separate group of submodifications under the main heading 
[see example on p. 492 under heading “Boundaries,” where 
“ Connecticut ” is a subhead]. The subhead does not differ in 
form or character from the simple modification, and requires differ¬ 
ent treatment only because it has attracted to itself several differ¬ 
entiated references, and must be separately indented in printing 
to make the meaning clear. 

Cross reference. A cross reference refers: (i) from a possible 
heading under which no page references are given to the chosen 
heading where they may be found (“see” reference); or, (2) 
connects headings which represent allied subjects or which con¬ 
tain related entries (“ see also ” reference): 

Electric telegraph, see Telegraph 
Limestone, see also Magnesian limestone 

Numerous entries, subheads and cross references may be grouped 
under one heading. To “ index under a certain word ” means 
that that word is put first in the entry and becomes the heading. 

FULNESS AND CHARACTER OF INDEXING 

Minuteness of indexing must vary according to the character and 
uses of the book in hand. Generally speaking, the fuller an index 
is, without entering into valueless minutiae, the greater is its use¬ 
fulness; a book half indexed would perhaps better have no index 
at all, since it is as likely to mislead as to assist. But books fre- 


INDEXING 


469 


quently contain illustrative or explanatory matter or digressions 
of various kinds which, though useful in their connection, a reader 
would not anticipate from his knowledge of the subject, nor expect 
to find analyzed in the index; hence their inclusion under distinct 
headings is a waste of space. Too often limitation of space or 
the question of expense confronts the indexer, when a close estimate 
of the number of pages and the number of headings to a page must 
be made, and fulness in indexing regulated accordingly. 

Indexer’s first duty. The indexer’s first duty, then, is to acquire 
a clear idea of the character, scope and general plan of the work 
to be indexed. If possible he should read it through. If index¬ 
ing from proof received in sections, he must judge as best he can 
from the material in hand and from such information as he can 
secure from author or publisher. In all cases of doubt it is better 
to err on the side of too great fulness in the earlier stages of the 
work, since it is easier to cut out superfluities in revising than to 
pick up statements dimly remembered which prove important as 
the work develops. 

Kinds of indexes. A book may require: (i) a general index of 
quite obvious subjects, as John Fiske’s histories, G. W. Curtis’s 
Orations and Addresses, Bryce’s American Commonwealth, Dar¬ 
win’s Descent of Man; or, (2) an index of ideas, more or less difficult 
to reduce to alphabetic key words, as Emerson’s Essays or Holmes’s 
Autocrat; or, (3) a name index, as for botanies, atlases, geneal¬ 
ogies etc.; or, (4) a word and phrase index, as Bartlett’s Familiar 
Quotations. In the last case it is necessary to bring out such words 
as may have remained in the searcher’s memory, through which 
he hopes to make whole a maimed and halting quotation. The 
following examples illustrate the difference between the indexing 
of words and the indexing of subjects: 

And what is so rare as a day in June? 

Then, if ever, come perfect days ; 

Then Heaven tries the earth, if it be in tune, 

And over it softly her warm ear lays. 

Here “ June ” is the very obvious subject, but entries are made in 
Bartlett under all the words underlined above. A second example: 
What’s gone and what’s past help 
Should be past grief. 

Here the underlined words chosen for entry are all that would be 
sought by a personi^triving to recall a half forgotten quotation, 
but none of them represents the subject of the lines, i. e. the use¬ 
lessness of regrets or repining.' 






470 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


CHOICE OF HEADINGS 

Consider the character of the book to be indexed; what class of 
persons will generally consult it: high school pupils, scientific men, 
literary students, business men, trained bibliographers, inexperi¬ 
enced general readers? On what lines will they seek information? 
With these points in view, choose between technical and common, 
scientific and unscientific terms, and decide whether any system 
of cross reference between them, or possibly of double entry, is 
necessary. In a word, determine what is wanted and devise means 
of getting at it. A subject heading should be selected with great 
care since it is the alphabetic key to the matter it indexes, and the 
only guide to the modifications grouped under it. The indexer 
must put himself in the reader’s place in choosing it. “Select such 
headings as are most likely to be first looked for by the searcher 
for such information as they contain.” [Fletcher] Use the word 
in the text if it fulfils this requirement; if not, supply the preferred 
word, keeping in mind the following principles: 

I Obvious key word. Choose the obvious word, even if in doing 
so the more exact one is sacrificed. “The cataloguer and the 
index compiler too often arrange their entries under those head¬ 
ings which they consider readers and searchers ought to consult.” 
[Clarke. Practical Indexing, p. 137] Not infrequenth^ the text 
words, even when they express the idea with the greatest precision, 
are the last that would occur to the seeker, who has not the page 
before him to suggest them. The index maker must consult the 
popular vocabulary far oftener than -the dictionary in selecting 
key words. 

It may sometimes be important to use the exact terms of the 
text, e. g. in technical books or in works of writers of marked 
individuality in the use of language, whose peculiar expressions 
impress themselves on their readers; but in these cases such words 
are, from a certain point of view, the obvious words, and the ap¬ 
parent exception proves the rule. Emerson’s oft quoted phrase 
“ hitch his wagon to a star ” furnishes an illustration. The passage 
reads: 

I admire still more than the sawmill the skill which, on the sea¬ 
shore, makes the tides drive the wheels and grind corn, and which 
engages the assistance of the moon, like a hired hand, to grind, 
and wind, and pump, and saw, and split stone, and roll iron. Now 
that is the wisdom of a man in every instance of his labor, to hitch 
his wagon to a star and see his chore done by the gods themselves. 
That is the way we are strong, by borrowing the might of the 
universe. 


INDEXING 


471 


Here the main idea, which runs through several pages, is that 
of man’s utilization of the power of the universe, both physical 
and spiritual. It might be expressed in the index by several key 
words, none of which would be so likely to occur to the searcher 
who had previously read the passage or heard the phrase quoted, 
as the words “ wagon ” and “star,” which represent it in the full 
index to the Riverside edition of Emerson’s works; yet no one, 
hearing the phrase alone, fancies it to be about either wagons or 
stars. The quotation is often used to emphasize a different thought, 
that of the importance of high aims, an idea developed, though 
less definitely, later in the essay. 

Take another striking passage from Emerson: 

Every man takes care that his neighbor shall not cheat him. 
But a day comes when he begins to care that he do not cheat 
his neighbor. Then all goes well. He has changed his market 
cart into a chariot of the sun. 

Here, following the principle illustrated above, entry might be 
made under “ Market cart ” and “ Chariot of the sun,” terms 
which linger in the reader’s mind. But “ cheat ” is quite as likely 
to be recalled and the single entry found in the Emerson index 
under “Cheating, fear of being cheated and fear of cheating,”' 
which represents the idea of the paragraph perfectly, is probably 
sufficient. 

2 Prefer common terms. Do not use learned or cumbrous words 
where simple and common ones will do as well. 

3 Avoid unimportant words. Do not enter under the unimpor¬ 
tant and chance words in a phrase; never use as key words preposi¬ 
tions, conjunctions, articles or equally obscure words. The inex¬ 
perienced indexer often makes the blunder of appropriating as it 
stands a good descriptive phrase, which sets forth the subject 
adequately but furnishes no usable alphabetic key, or which must 
be rearranged to bring the significant word to the first place; e. g. 

Desperate leap of a bird catcher 

Growth of knowledge unconscious 

Differences in quality of humor in men and women 

4 Adjective headings. A heading should be a noun or a sub¬ 
stantive phrase. Adjectives may, however, lead in a phrase, and 
thus determine the alphabetic place, where they form part of a 
name or well known term, and would be naturally sought by the 
user of the index; e. g. Alimentary canal, Carbolic acid. Domestic 
economy. Hereditary genius. Perpetual motion. An adjective 
alone does not constitute a complete heading. 

5 Specific headings. Choose the specific term; e. g. “ Golf” in-^ 
stead of “ Games ” if the discussion is confined to golf. 


472 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


6 I Subject of book. Avoid indexing under the main subject of 
the^book, unless it is the only word or group of words for which the 
searcher would look; e. g. in a book on punctuation make headings 

Comma,” “ Colon,” etc., placing under the heading “ Punctuation ” 
such modifications as “different systems,” “general rules,” “mod- 
^ern practice,” etc. The annual report of the director of the N. Y. 
State Library rarely contains index entries under “ State Library ” 
or “ Library ”; the reports on examinations in New York State have 
few entries under the word “ Examinations.” In such cases, since 
the entire volume relates directly to a single subject, the main 
heading is understood throughout; if expressed, it must precede 
nearly every entry, and would be ignored by the seeker, who 
would transfer his attention to the alphabeting of the words fol¬ 
lowing. 

Perspective should always be kept in mind in determining 
plan. Each idea must be treated with reference to accompanying 
matter. In a work solely on New York the index might not con¬ 
tain the heading “New York,” all matters treated being indexed 
under their individual terms; while in a work treating only in 
part-of that state, subjects relating to it would be better indexed 
under the heading “New York.” In a geographic work places 
would have preference and special attention in indexing; in general 
scientific works, the subjects discussed would furnish the important 
headings and place entry would be of secondary interest. 
“ Geology in New York ” in the former would be indexed under 

New York”; in the latter, under “ Geology.” But entry under 
both might sometimes be necessary. 

Sir Walter Scott’s biography of Swift quotes the Dean’s pathetic 
prophecy in the presence of a dying elm: “ I shall be like that tree, 
I shall die at the top.” This idea would in Swift’s biography be 
indexed as “Death, his premonition of ”; in a volume of miscella¬ 
neous essays, under “Swift, Dean, premonition of death”; in 
Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations it appears under the key words 
“ Tree,” “ Die ” and “ Top.” In a collection of quotations, 
indexed under authors, it should be brought out under both Swift 
and Scott. 

7 Separate linked subjects. In simple subject indexing do not 
link two subjects in one heading, even when they form a title; e. g. 

New York, clay industry in 
New Jersey, clay industry in 
not New York and New Jersey, clay industry in 
New Jersey and New York, clay industry in 


INDEXING 


473 


8 Significant word. If the heading is a phrase, enter under first 
word unless a later word is more significant; e. g. 

a Actions at law; Conduct of life; District of Columbia; Freedom of 
the press; Trial by combat 

b Ghent, treaty of; Agriculture, department of 

9 Words necessarily separated. When words closely connected 
in the text must be separated in the index in order to bring the 
heading first, avoid a greater separation than is necessary; e. g. 

France, southern, industrial condition 
Grant, Gen, U. S., battles 
not France, industrial condition in southern 
Grant, battles of Gen. U. S. 

10 Brief and compact forms; punctuation. So far as possible 
confine the heading to a word or brief phrase not requiring 
punctuation other than a comma for simple inversion, so that it 
may be taken in at a glance. When a heading must be used in 
inverted form and there is danger of confusion with the first modi¬ 
fication, set it off by a colon; e. g. 

Game, protection: county wardens, 199; licenses, 202 ; preserves, 203 ; 
state wardens, 204 

11 Quoted statements. Index quoted statements under the real 
author’s name, adding (quoted). 

12 Number of headings to subject. Use as many headings as 
are necessary to present the subject in all its phases. Every 
heading should be included for which a reader might reasonably 
look, either with citations or by cross reference. Two subjects 
of equal importance may be treatedln one article, or a single sub¬ 
ject may be sought from more than one point of view. A paper 
on the socialistic movement in Massachusetts should be readily 
found by a seeker interested in socialism or by a student of condi¬ 
tions in Massachusetts. Architecture in Washington may be 
sought by those interested in the city or in architecture. 

But questions of perspective enter into decisions as to 
double entry. In indexing matter in an American newspaper 
about e. g. a treaty between Chile and Argentina it is obvious that 
the two countries are entitled to equal recognition; but an article 
on relations between the United States and Chile needs only entry 
under “ Chile.” The American newspaper looks out on the world 
always from the American standpoint; to index relations with 
Chile under “ United States ” is much as if a woman should index 
her social engagements under her own name. In general the more 
vague the subject, the larger the number of headings necessary to 
index it. Keep two considerations in mind: the importance of 


474 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


sufficient fulness to enable the searcher to find what he wants with¬ 
out unnecessary effort, and the folly of increasing the size and 
expense of the work by useless entries. Ordinarily one or two 
well chosen key words will be enough, and it is unworkmanlike to 
inflate the index till it rivals the text in bulk. The index to St 
George Mivart’s book On the Origin of Human Reason is a notable 
example of absurd repetition and unwise choice of key words. 
The author refers [p. 136] to some articulate utterances of a certain 
parrot which sounded remarkably like replies to questions. This 
is indexed under 15 headings, as follows: 

Absurd tale about a Cockatoo, 136 
Anecdote, ab.surd one, about a Cockatoo, 136 
Bathos and a Cockatoo, 136 
Cockatoo, absurd tale concerning one, 136 
Discourse held with a Cockatoo, 136 
Incredibly absurd tale of a Cockatoo, 136 
Invalid Cockatoo, absurd tale about, 136 

Mr R-, and tale about a Cockatoo, 136 

Preposterous tale about a Cockatoo, 136 
Questions answered by a Cockatoo, 136 

R-, Mr, and tale about a Cockatoo, 136 

Rational Cockatoo as asserted, 136 
Tale about a rational Cockatoo, as asserted, 136 
Very absurd tale about a Cockatoo, 136 
Wonderfully foolish tale about a Cockatoo, 136 
13 Cross reference vs scattered material. Be careful not to 
scatter material under several practically identical headings, 
where one heading with cross references from others will serve; 
e. g. matter about “ taxes,” ” imposts,” ” duties ” and ” excise ” 
can usually be grouped under ” Taxes ” with reference from the 
others. On the other hand, avoid using too comprehensive head¬ 
ings, which will draw unwieldy masses of modifications better dis¬ 
tributed among more specific headings and connected by ” see 
also ” cross references if necessary. 

In a very full index “suspended animation” might be indexed under 
headings, with cross references, as follows, the full entries being supposed 
to be made under the heading “ Suspended animation 

Animation, suspended, see Suspended animation. 

Biology, see also Suspended animation. 

Dormant vitality, see Suspended animation. 

Hibernation, see also Suspended animation. 

Life, see also Suspended animation. 

Suspended animation. 

Vitality, see also Su.spended animation. 


INDEXING 


475 


MODIFICATIONS 

In word or name indexes the heading is usually followed directly 
by the page reference, but in subject indexes modifying phrases are 
frequently added to differentiate the passages cited [see Defini¬ 
tion of terms, p. 468]. 

Value. These modifications are sometimes so inseparably con¬ 
nected with the heading as to seem a part of it, but quite as often they 
are evidently added to define exactly what the text includes. They 
may be of little consequence in brief and simple indexes, but an 
elaborate index, where large numbers of references are grouped 
under important headings, is exasperatingly incomplete without 
them, often forcing the searcher to consult many pages for material 
to which he might have been sent directly by an added word or 
phrase. H. B. Wheatley in his entertaining and suggestive What 
is an Index? published for the English Index Society in 1878, says 
[p. 45-46]: 

The indexer must aim at conciseness, but he should always 
specify the cause of reference, more especially in the case of proper 
names. Few things are more annoying than to find a block list 
of references after a name, so that the consulter has to search through 
many pages before he can find what he seeks. Mr Markland draws 
particular attention to this point in a communication to the Notes 
and Queries (2d series, vol. 7, p. 469) on the subject of Indexes. 
He complains bitterly of the indexes to the collected edition of 
Walpole’s Letters and to Scott’s Swift. In the latter book there 
are 638 references to Harley, Earl of Oxford, without any indica¬ 
tion of the reason why his name is entered in the index. This 
case also affords a good instance of careless indexing in another 
particular, for these references are separated under different head¬ 
ings, instead of being gathered under one, as follows: 

Harley (Robert) 227 references 
Oxford (Lord) iii references 
Treasurer, Lord Oxford 300 references 
Mr Markland takes the opportunity of pointing out that good 
specimens of the right way to set out the references to an individual 
are to be found in Nichols’s Literary Anecdotes; Hallam’s Consti¬ 
tutional History; and Campbell’s Lives of the Lord Chancellors. Prob¬ 
ably the most colossal instance of the fault above alluded to is to be 
found in Ayscough’s elaborate index to the .Gentleman's Magazine, 
where all the references under one surname are placed together 
without even the distinction of the Christian name. Mr Solly 
made a curious calculation as to the time that would be employed 
in looking up these references. For instance, under the name 
Smith, there are 2411 entries all “en masse,” and with no initial 
letters. If there were these divisions, one would find “Zachary 
Smith” in a few minutes, but now one must look to each reference 
to find what is wanted. With taking down the volumes, and 


476 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


hunting through long lists of names, Mr Solly found that each 
reference cost him two minutes of time, a by no means extravagant 
estimate; hence it would take the consulter eight days (working 
steadily ten hours a day) to find out if there be any note about 
Zachary Smith in the Magazine, a task so awful to think of that 
it may be presumed that no one will ever attempt it. 

Uniformity. Modifications need not be used uniformly through¬ 
out an index. Some subjects occur too infrequently to require 
them; e. g. in an index to laws a single reference to “chloral” 
needs no modification, but loo references to laws affecting “cities” 
need to be carefully differentiated to facilitate the reader’s search 
for a particular law. Their use must be determined by the nature 
of the subject-matter, and therefore of the headings, the probable 
number and character of references to the subject and the most 
important use of the index. When they are to be inserted very 
generally, add them uniformly to all headings when the entries are 
first made, since it is easier to cut out those not desired than to add 
after all the entries under one heading are brought together. To 
save space in very long indexes, modifications may sometimes be 
dropped from all headings having only a few references without 
seriously impairing their value. Very general or indefinite head¬ 
ings need modifications even when entries are few, and sometimes 
one is necessary to explain the presence of the heading. 

If a modification proves to be too general or of too little impor¬ 
tance, drop it and put the page reference immediately after the 
heading, as illustrated by the first entry in the following example: 

Trinity church, 232; charter, 120; pews, 243; rectors, 252, 360; sex¬ 
ton, 365 

Clear but concise. Make the modification clear, but brief and 
compact as possible, omitting every word not necessary to perfect 
clearness. The idea of each modification should be distinct from 
that of all others under the heading, so that the searcher may 
receive a definite impression of the character of the text referred 
to. This may often be secured with but a word or two. It is 
not necessary that sentences be complete, and much space may 
be saved by cutting out superfluous words; e. g. “Pacific ocean, 
discovery,” “Volcanic explosions, cause,” “Patent, royal; validity,” 
are as clear and significant in the index as “ Pacific ocean, discovery 
of the”; “Patent, the royal; question concerning the validity of.” 
In this work, however, the indexer must be alert to possible altera¬ 
tions in sense through ill judged cancelations. A work now widely 
used narrowly escaped going before the public with the somewhat 
surprising heading “Washington in Jerseys,” in consequence of 


INDEXING 


47T 


the too zealous economy of a reviser who had_J^stricken out a saving 
“the” before Jerseys. 

Inversions under^heading. Avoid needless and confusing inver¬ 
sions under heading. The subject word is generally brought to 
the head by inversion, but except in long and elaborate indexes, 
where a scheme of classification of material under heading must 
be followed, it is better to leave modifications as nearly as may 
be in the natural order; e. g. 

Nicaragua canal, provisions affecting in treaty with England 

not Nicaragua canal, England, treaty with, provisions in, affecting 

Names of persons. Cataloguers and bibliographers, trained to 
invert author’s names to secure alphabetic arrangement by sur¬ 
names, sometimes carry the habit so far as to invert them under 
title in ordinary^book and periodical indexing. The effect is ex¬ 
tremely awkward and inconvenient. Enter 

Wetmore, W. H, Study of forestry in the United States 
and Forestry in the United States, Study of; by W. H. Wetmore 
not Forestry in the United States, Study of; by Wetmore, W. H. 

Do not try to condense all the text information in the modifica¬ 
tion; even if possible, the reader naturally expects to find more in 
the text, and is misled. 

Some indexers seem to be of opinion that proper names are the 
most important items in an index, and while carefully including 
all these, they omit facts and opinions of much greater importance. 
As a rule it is objectionable when the consulter finds no additional 
information in the book to what is already given in the index; 
for instance, should the observation be made respecting a certain 
state of mind that “the Duke of Wellington probably felt the same 
at the Battle of Waterloo,” it will be well for the indexer to pass 
the remark by unnoticed, as should he make the following entries, 
the consulter is not likely to be in a very genial mood when he 
looks up the references: 

Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington’s supposed feelings at the battle of. 

Wellington (Duke of), his supposed feelings at Waterloo. 

The hackneyed quotation of 

Best, Mr Justice, his great mind, 

can not be omitted here, although I am unable to give any satis¬ 
factory account of its origin. It forms an excellent example of 
the useless references to which we have just referred, and contains 
as well a ludicrous misapprehension of the passage indexed, which 
is said to have been: “Mr Justice Best said that he had a great 
mind to commit the man for trial.” There can be no doubt that 
the entry, whether it ever occurred in an index or not, was intended 
as a personal fling against Sir William Draper Best, puisne judge 
of the King’s Bench from 1819-1824, and lord chief justice of the 
Common Pleas from 1824-1829. 

Wheatley, What is an Index? p. 44-45; 


478 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


Allusions and unimportant statements. In case of unimportant 
allusions to persons, such phrases as “referred to,” “alluded to,” 
“cited” and “quoted” are convenient and quite sufficient. 

Index entry a pointer. The indexer should bear in mind always 
that the index entry is only a “pointer” showing where certain 
information is to be found. If in a word the gist of the informa¬ 
tion can be indicated, sometimes saving the consulter the trouble 
of turning to the text, it may well be given, but there should be 
no attempt to make the index entry a digest. Nor must modifica¬ 
tions be so comprehensive as to lack the necessary precision. 
Though the entry is but a pointer, it must point definite^ to the 
specific object and not simply wave a gracious hand over a vast 
territory. “Buddhism” is too general if the indexer intends to 
cite the work of Buddhist missionaries in New York city; “France, 
education in” does not necessarily suggest the question of parochial 
vs state schools in France. 

Care in condensing entries. Be careful that the modification is 
not condensed in such a way as to become a false or misleading 
statement, expressing more than, or the opposite of, the text. A 
passage in a history of colonial New York, stating that nonobserv¬ 
ance of the Sabbath was forbidden under certain penalties by 
Peter Stuyvesant is better indexed under “Sabbath observance 
under Gov. Stuyvesant” than in the text words “Sabbath, non- 
observance under Gov. Stuyvesant,” because the latter form 
implies injustice to the doughty Dutchman’s rule. It is clearly 
misleading to index a paper on the question of school instruction 
as to the effects of alcoholic drinks under “Alcohol, use taught 
in schools.” 

Tact and humor in indexer. There is room also for the exercise 
of tact as well as truthfulness on the part of the indexer. Why 
enter under “Trenton, gambling in,” when attention is to be called 
to Trenton’s crusade against gambling? A saving sense of humor 
would prevent such an entry as “Oaths concerning debtors” to 
represent a law permitting the deduction of debts from the evalua¬ 
tion of taxable property when properly certified under oath. 

Repetition of heading. Avoid repeating the heading in the 
modification: a change in wording or the insertion of a comma 
will often serve to express it. But prefer repetition of heading 
to awkward phraseology or confusion of meaning; e. g. 

Books, character in, 122; of facts. Voice, English, no; the sweetest 
279; moral power, 159; professor music, 251, 340; index of a state 
of, needed, 166 . of mind, 418; a hoarse voice a 

kind of warning, 422 



INDEXING 


479 


Analysis under heading. When all, or most of the matter relating 
to a single subject is given consecutively and is not very extended, 
it is generally not worth while to give an analysis under the main 
subject heading; let a single blanket entry cover the mass. If 
there are scattered references elsewhere, differentiate these refer¬ 
ences, so that the searcher may know where to find a specific phase 
of the subject not treated in the main section. Bring out also 
specific points mentioned in the main section as headings in their 
own alphabetic places, if obviousty desirable; e. g. 

Title entry, treatment, 13-14 

Title entry, treatment; anonymous books, 18 

Biographic titles, 14 

Novels, title entry, 13 

iAnonymous books, title entry, 18 

Sometimes it is impossible to determine at the outset whether 
analysis is desirable. This difficulty usually arises when the in¬ 
dexer must begin his work before all the text is in hand. In such 
cases choose the “blanket” or “omnibus” entry, noting in the 
margin of the text the alternative. If before “verifying” [see p. 
489] the same or other specific modifications have been needed 
for the subject, the change can be made at that point. If not, 
and all the text has not yet been read, transfer the note, abbrevi¬ 
ated, to the bottom of the slip, so that the question will not be 
overlooked in editing and can then be settled definitely. 

Scattered references. If the treatment of the subject is scattered 
through many' pages and constantly interrupted by matter not 
relevant to it, of course thorough analysis and differentiation of 
references will be necessary. 

Heading identical with modification. When a heading is also a 
modification of another heading, do not duplicate entries if they 
are identical, but refer from the modification to the heading; e. g. 
Cities, taxes, see Taxes, cities. The relative importance of the 
headings must decide which way the reference should be made. 
But if the page references under the modification are only a part 
of those under the same word or words as a heading, repeat, the 
entries rather than refer to a mass of material most of which is 
irrelevant; e. g. 

Cities, courts, 182, 260 

Courts, 71, 123, 182, 209, 253, 260, 297 

Modifications in “entry a line^^ index. If the index is to be in 
entry a line form [see p. 496] make the modification very brief and 
place the most important word first, inverting more freely to this 
end than in the paragraphed form, since it will head the line, catch 
the eye first and determine the alphabetic position of the modifica- 


480 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


tion. With these limitations the modifications can seldom be so 
specific as in the more common paragraphed index. 

CROSS REFERENCE 

Cross references are of two kinds, commonly spoken of as “see’^ 
references and “see also” references [see Definition of terms, p. 468]. 
Make a “see” reference to guide the reader: 

1 From a subject heading under which he might reasonably expect 
to find material to the heading or headings chosen for that sub¬ 
ject; e. g. 

Excise, see Taxes 

Death rate, see Mortalit}’^; Vital statistics 

2 From Other forms of an author’s name, or from a pseudonym, 
to the form chosen; e. g. 

Ossoli, Margaret Fuller, see Fuller, Margaret 
Marvel, Ik, pseud, see Mitchell, D. G. 

Make a “see also” reference to connect: 

1 A subject with its subdivisions; e. g. 

Literature, see also Drama; Essays; Fiction; Poetry 

2 Class and specific headings; e. g. 

Beverages, see also Coffee; Milk; Tea 

3 Pleadings which are related, or contain allied matter; or which, 
dissimilar for the most part, would be needed by an investigator 
of a certain topic; e. g. 

Laws, see also Legislation 
Books, see also Reading 

Children, see also Minors; Orphans; Schools; Wards 
Temperance, see also Local option; Saloons 
Principles. When allied headings are of equal importance make 
the reference under each; e. g. 

Labor, see also Employees; Wages 
Employees, see also Labor; Wages 
Wages, see also Employees; Labor 

Be sure that the heading referred to contains new matter; never 
make reference from one heading to exactly the same pages cited 
under another heading. If the same information is entered under 
two headings, and it is necessary to make a reference from a third, 
make such reference to one form only; e. g. 

Japan, religion, 147 
Religion of Japan, 147 

Buddhism see Japan, or Buddhism see Religion of Japan 
but not both for this particular information. The searcher wishes 
only the fact; he does not care under how many forms the indexer 
has seen fit to refer to it. Nothing is more annoying than to be 
sent back and forth through the alphabet only to be conducted up 
blind alleys to the paragraph just read. 


INDEXING 


481 


Never make a reference to a related heading unless there is 
actually a relevant entry there; i. e. do not refer to what may be, 
but only to what is. This is a common fault in cyclopedias and 
other works prepared by cooperation. The writer of an article, 
e. g. on x-rays, supposes that there will be full treatment of the 
uses of the x-ray in photography under the heading “ Photography,” 
and the specialist on photography assumes that that particular 
branch of his subject will be sufficiently covered under “ X-rays,” 
with the result that the seeker, after reading both articles, has 
secured nothing on his subject save the two references, “X-rays, 
see also Photography,” “Photography, see also'K-ro.ys'" Careful 
editing is imperative to prevent such mistakes. 

Double entry vs cross reference. When but one or two brief 
entries are to be made, as a rule duplicate under the various head¬ 
ings needed instead of making references. The entry seldom 
requires more space, and in many cases actually takes less, if the 
modifications are as compact as they should be; and the searcher’s 
time is saved, which is the first object of an index. Exception 
may be made in case of references from rejected to chosen forms 
of names. 

Cross reference to heading only. Do not make cross references 
too specific. As a rule refer from heading only and to heading 
only, not particularizing modifications. Exception should some¬ 
times be made in elaborate indexes where subheads are used, and 
ill indexes printed in entry a line form. 

PAGE REFERENCES 

Inclusive or scattering references. If a subject is touched, 
dropped and taken up again on the same page, let the first refer¬ 
ence stand for all unless the intervening text is so different in^char- 
acter that the searcher would not follow up the matter. This 
direction applies to regular reading text; in lists of names, tabular 
matter or any work in which the subject is constantly changing, 
every occurrence of a subject or name should be indexed. If 
the matter runs over a page give inclusive figures; the reader 
frequently wishes to know whether he will find an extended dis¬ 
cussion, or merely incidental mentions; e.g. 120-29, the less 
exact 120 seq. 

Exact reference by ninths. Unless pages are small or the subject 
matter is indicated by prominent center or side heads, it is con¬ 
venient to divide the page into ninths in order to make references 
perfectly exact, superior figures being used to indicate the particular 
ninth of page or column in which the passage referred to begins; 
e. g. 34"* means page 34 beginning in the third ninth of the page 


482 


NEW YORK STATE LIITRARY 


(about one third of the way down). Of the superior figures, the 
odd numbers i, 5 and 9 denote the top, middle or bottom of the 
pages; 3 and 7,points halfway between top and middle and middle 
and bottom; while even numbers are mere modifiers of these 
positions, 2 denoting a point a little below the top, 8 a point a little 
above the bottom, 4 and 6 points just above and below the middle. 
If there are several columns on a page, use two superior figures, 
the first denoting column and the second position in the column; 
e. g. means page 89, beginning in the third ninth of colurnn 

I and ending near the bottom (in the eighth ninth) of column 2. This 
system is very useful for books requiring close analysis, where 
many subjects or phases of a subject are treated on a single page; 
it would be of little value, and by no means worth the extra time 
and cost, for many popular books. Wherever it is used a clear 
note of explanation should be given at the beginning of the index. 

Marker. For this work a “marker” must be made, consisting 
of a narrow strip of paper (an inch or less wide) the length of the 
printed matter on the page, including running titles, and plainly 
divided into ninths, the spaces being numbered i to 9 from top 
to bottom. 

Beginning of citation. The page citation should begin where 
the subject to be indexed is introduced, not necessarily where the 
subject word first occurs, if a text word is chosen for the heading. 
The marker laid on the page shows precisely the part of the page, 
and should always be used by those inexperienced in indexing by 
this exact method. If the indexer has a good eye he may soon 
acquire a ready and accurate judgment of 'relative position, and 
be able frequently to dispense with the measure. 

Citation of volumes. When the index covers more than one 


volume, separate volume and page number by a colon; e. g. 2:176^- 
80®. If the modifications are arranged alphabetically the volume 
aumber must be included in every reference; if they are in order 
of entry, i. e. of occurrence in the text, the volume number may 
be omitted after the first reference, but should be in heavier type 
in order to be easily detected; e. g. 


Truth, absolute, 6:197; abvStract, 
1:10; 2:304, 309; adorer of, 

4:276; 6:290; apprehension of, 
1:10, 70, 166; 2 : 264; 12 :3o; basis 
of aristocracy, 10:43; ^l^® only 
armor, 6:219; unity with beauty, 

1:59 


Nature, Moore’s view of, 1:103; 
modern sentimentalism about, 375 ; 
man’s connection with, 376; in 
Thoreau’s writings, 381; her in¬ 
difference to man, 2:131; as 
viewed by Rousseau, 266; early 
view of, 319; the free shows pro¬ 
vided by, 3:257; Chaucer’s love 
ot, 355: love of, a modern thing 
260; ignored by PTench criticism 
4:9; its double meanings, 258 



INDEXING 


483 


The relative importance of the colon and semicolon must be indicated by 
spacing; very narrow spaces on each side of the colon and regular spacing 
after the semicolon will prevent any confusion. 

If the volumes are divided into parts or parts into volumes 
express thus: v. i, pt 1:39^; pt 3, v. 2:159®. 

In case of series of reports, proceedings etc. when the volumes 
are not numbered, citation must be by year; e. g. ’55:171; ’01:62. 

When desirable to include month and year in periodical refer¬ 
ences cite thus: 53:109 (Jan.’95); 68:149 (22 June ’99); or, in 
more strictly bibliographic work, Dec. 1897, 12:622-65. In a 
long index Library Bureau abbreviations of months save space: 
Ja, F, Mr, Ap, My. Je, Jl. Ag. S, O N. D 

MECHANICAL METHODS 

The clerical methods of constructing indexes are three. 

I Blank book plan. In this an alphabetic arrangement is 
approximated by allotting a certain number of pages to letters 
or combinations of two or more letters—Aa, Ab, Ac, Ba, Be, Bl, etc. 
A book provided with marginal letter tags is desirable for this use, 
or better, because it admits of interpolation, separate sheets pro¬ 
vided with marginal index letters, clamped in a binder”. 
The space allotted to the combinations must not be equal, but 
proportional. Obviously much more space is required for headings 
beginning with C than with Q; Ad will attract many more entries 
than Aa. 

Relative space for letters. The relative importance of the letters 
of the alphabet has been the subject of considerable research and 
comparison. H. B. Wheatley gives some results in his How to 
Make an Index, p. 197-202. It is made evident that C and S are 
always ful\ in both name and subject indexes; B frequently leads 
all in name indexes but generally falls to a position midway in 
subject indexes; M ranks somewhat above the average, and in 
indexes of English names, W and H rank high. A is first of 
the vowels, the others standing but little higher than J, K and 
Q. The first half of the alphabet requires appreciably more space 
than the second. While statistics prove the general average, they 
also reveal great variation in special instances. It is apparent 
that in an index to New York local history Dutch names would 
raise the letter V, usually of low rank, to an important position, 
and occasionally the ordinary proportions are altered most unex¬ 
pectedly. There is always danger of miscalculation in assigning 

‘For fuller description and criticism of this method see Clarke, Practical 
Indexing, p. 155-60. 



484 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


space, and consequent blocking of letters. When this occurs, a 
new place must be set aside, a reference made, and thereafter it 
will be necessary to look in both places for entries under that 
combination. This system has been ver}^ popular for office indexes 
but is everywhere giving way to the card form. 

2 Order of occurrence. The second method, often used in pre¬ 
paring book indexes, is that of making entries on sheets in the order 
of the matter indexed. When complete they are cut apart, alpha- 
beted and mounted on sheets for the printer. 

Alphabeting slips. In sorting into alphabetic order, the slips 
are first thrown into piles by initial letter, according to an imaginary 
diagram in five columns of five letters each: 


A — — — — — U 

B — — — — — V 

C — — — — — w 

D — — — — — X 

E — — — — — YZ 


The relative position of each letter is soon learned and slips are 
placed almost automatically. The first rough alphabeting should 
be followed by a more exact one. This method of indexing is very 
fully described by F. B. Perkins in a paper on “ Book indexes ” 
in Public Libraries in the United States, a special report of the 
Bureau of Education published at Washington in 1876. It is fairly 
satisfactory for extremely simple work, e. g. an author index to 
a classed list of books, but in more complicated indexing 
involves a considerable loss of time in referring to earlier entries 
and in final editing for the printer. 

3 Separate slips. The third method, that of making entries on 
separate slips and filing them in trays in strict alphabetic order as 
the work proceeds, is much the best, and is described in detail on 
p. 487-90. 

MARKING PROOF 

Advantages. When the character of the special problem has 
been grasped and a general idea of what is needed attained, the text, 
whether in proof or already in book form, should be marked for 
entries. There are decided advantages in thus indicating headings, 
modifications and cross references on the matter to be indexed before 
writing the entries. Till the slips are alphabeted (a slow process 
and often delayed) in no other way can the indexer easily refer to 
headings and modifications already chosen for certain subjects, 
or discover forgotten decisions in puzzling cases. When a change 




INDEXING 


485 


must be made in fulness of indexing the marked proofs are invalu¬ 
able, and in a long index or one which has been interrupted, they 
are of great service in securing uniformity. .In recurrent work, 
such as reports and proceedings, which frequently follow the same 
general plan year after year and contain much tabular matter, the 
marked text of the preceding volume is a much more useful guide 
than the printed index, and it often enables the Indexer to delegate 
the work to an assistant, after marking the new sections, with 
general directions to follow proof of the preceding year. Perhaps 
most important of all, marking proofs makes it possible to consign 
the mechanical writing of entries to an Assistant. 

Methods. There are many possible ways of indicating entries 
in the text. Any method is good which is simple to use, avoids 
confusion and is readily grasped by an untrained assistant. A 
method which has stood the test of several years use in many 
kinds of indexes is as follows: 

Indicate the heading by underlining in pencil the word or phrase, 
if in the text; if not, write it in the margin and underline. Indicate 
its modification, if any is needed, by a short line under the beginning 
of the modifying word or phrase, or inclose the phrase in curves, 
crossing out unnecessary words and making any other desired 
changes. If connection between heading and modification is not 
clear use a tracer. Indicate a “ see ” reference by x under the 
word from which reference is to be made to the word underlined 
for heading; e. g. 

Roads Highways 

X 

A “ see also reference may be indicated by adding the word 
also ” ; e. g. 

Roads Highways 
X also 

If reference is to be made both ways put x under each word; e. g. 

Property Mortgage 

X X 

The “ also ” is superfluous in this case, because the fact that double 
reference is desired shows the form. Most frequently the heading 
referred from has to be written in the margin and so is just as 
easily written “Mortgage, see also “ ; or, if it is the heading referred 
to, “See also Mortgage.” 

• The following extract from Nichols’s Indexing expresses prin¬ 
ciples of value to the indexer and has been marked to illustrate 
the plan described above: 



48G * 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


^/vv v'jvcrv'lj^ 


'Vxcrt. 


YvslxjO^'^u:’'^ ^ 




{^Yvo^ 


Consistency and ^iformity are very desirable through¬ 
out the index Consistency, besides being necessarily a 
part of a well ordered system, tends to prevent mistakes, 
in an index’ which lacks uniformity of composition, a 
searcher, finding one arrangement in one case and not the 
same arrangement in another similar case,-may thereby 
be erroneously led to suppose that the index contains 
nothing on the latter subject. It is. however, quite 
impossible always to follow rigidly any plan or system. 
The judgment of the indexer will be constantly exercised 
in the discrimination between and settlement of fine 
points A certain amount of latitude and elasticity must 
always be admissible and much must be left to the good 
sense of the indexer 

As a subiect is newdy encountered the indexer should 
first carefully determine just what the exact subject is, 
and then how best to express it, select the headines and 
modifications—all those under which search is likely to 
be made—that best express the meaning. Whenever the 
same subject occurs afterward enter under the same 
headings If there are several synonymous headings 








equally eligible, select one of them for entry and make 
cross reference from the others to it The language of 
text^ and least of all t^jtles, except in title entry< (ne ed hot 
w followe^and should never be slavishly followed in the 
wording of the headings and modifications, these should 
express in the most\{^ct (fine shade^v^^f_jTie^ning being 
considered), the plaine^S^ail.d briefest way^ssible tHe 
actual subject, the entries 
simplest form, and if possible to a single word 




The markings call for entries as below, the page citations re¬ 
ferring to Nichols’s Indexing, which is printed in double columns: 
Consistency, importance, 3^- 
Uniformity, see Consistency 
Consistency not chief aim, 3^^ 

Subject, new, how to treat, 3^® 

Headings, decide on and follow^ uniformly, 3^® 

Synonymous headings, 3^® 

Headings, synonymous, 3^® 

Cross reference, from synonymous terms, 3^^ 

Language of text often disregarded, 3^^ 

Text words not always best key, 3^^ 

Titles need not be followed, 3^^ 

Headings, briefest clear form, 3^® 

Modifications, briefest clear form, 3^® 

A single marking of the heading “ Consistency ” stands for both 
modifications, because no other heading intervenes. The unbroken 
line under “ synonymous headings ” shows that the words are to 
be taken together as a heading; the second line under “ heading ” 














INDEXING 


487 


directs that it be used alone as a heading, modified by “synony¬ 
mous,” as indicated by the short second line under that word. 
Curves inclose the modification of the heading “Titles,” because 
the short line would not make clear how much of the phrase was 
to be taken. Tracers show that “ briefest clear form ” is to mod¬ 
ify both “ heading ” and “ modifications.” 

Perspective in choosing headings. It should be noted that these 
entries are made for a separate monograph on indexing very fully 
analyzed. If published with miscellaneous papers on other sub¬ 
jects the headings chosen here would be inappropriate; most, if 
not all of them, in that case, should be entered as modifications 
under the heading “ Indexing.” Mr Nichols’s paper was in fact 
first published in v. 17 of the Library Journal, where it appears 
in the index only under “Indexing (Nichols) 406-419.” Had the 
indexer seen fit to analyze the paper somewhat the heading 
“ Indexing ” would still have been sufficient to cover all modifi¬ 
cations. 

The need of subheads under certain headings can sometimes be 
foreseen in marking the proof, and if the proper word is chosen then 
it will save time in alphabeting and editing. The intention to 
treat as a subhead is indicated by the word “indent,” a direction 
as to form of printing, which must be transferred to the bottom 
of the slip when the entry is written, for guidance to editor and 
copyist. 

WRITING SLIPS 

After the indexer has read enough of the text to make sure that 
the general scheme of indexing will not need changing, marked 
proofs can be given to an assistant for writing slips. For this 
are needed: 

1 V slips. Small slips (V of the “standard sizes,” 5^x7 cm^ 
being a convenient size) of light weight manila. Thinner slips 
may be used, and are preferable if they are to be pasted instead of 
copied, but if extremely thin are difficult to handle. 

2 A tray, with divisions into which the slips fit loosely. 

3 A “marker” dividing the page into ninths [see p. 482]. 

The V slips are large enough for properly condensed entries. 

under ordinary conditions, and are recommended because they 
are cheaper and may be compactly filed. 

P slips. Rarely, however, occasion may arise for preferring 
7x12J cm thin ruled white slips, or if the index is to serve also 
as a permanent growing office record (e. g. a cumulating index to 
a periodietsnical) even the heavier catalogue card. Trays and cab 


488 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


may be bought for this size, which is that of standard catalogue 
cards. 

Rules for V slip entries. Write on each slip a single entry, giving 
page, and if desired, ninth of page, to which it refers [see Page 
references, p. 481-82]. If matter overruns the page, make the 
reference inclusive, but let first mention suffice if not exceeding 
the page, unless so interrupted by other subjects that later men¬ 
tion might be overlooked [see p. 479] e. g. 


Roosevelt, Theodore, literary 
work, 175, 221-24. 245 


Title cards, 97*, 97^ 98^ | 

! 

j 

Give each modification of the subject a separate slip. When 
the same unmodified heading, or the same heading and modifica¬ 
tion, occurs again, the page reference may be added to the first 
slip if finding it requires little more time than writing a new slip; 

e. g. 

Jamestown, first settlers, 13 

j 

j Jamestown, Capt. John Smith 
' • in, 13, 270 

1 

i 

1 ! 

1 1 


Adding to the original slip is worth a little trouble, since in a long 
index it is desirable to reduce the bulk of slips in alphabeting and 
the work of combining in editing. “See ” and “ see also ” refer¬ 
ences need, of course, be written but once. 

The entry should begin at the extreme upper left edge of the 
slip, with every line following indented slightly, so that, in alpha¬ 
beting, the heading will readily catch the eye. The assistant 
indicates on the text by a check under the heading that the 
entry has been written, and places each slip as it is made behind 
those already in the tray, so that the entries will stand in order of 
occurrence, making “verifying ’’ easy. In a long piece of work it 
is a good plan to put the cross reference slips in a separate tray. 
If alphabeted occasionally, reference to them is easy and prevents 
making extra slips when a cross reference already made is called 
for on subsequent proofs. Such separation also greatly facilitates 
comparison in editing. 




















INDEXING 


489 


1 / 

VERIFYING 

The indexer, at frequent intervals unless the index is very short, 
should verify the slips, whether they have been written by him¬ 
self or an assistant, by carefully comparing each with the marked 
proof, for correctness of heading, modification and page reference, 
specially noting inclusive pagings. The end of one subject and 
the beginning of a related one is often difficult to determine, and 
if the assistant is untrained it is well to indicate conclusion of a 
reference when marking the proof, writing it in the margin. While 
verifying, questions indicated on the proof must be settled or 
transferred to the slips for later decision [see p. 479] and often some 
of the editing can b'e done, saving time at the end, when there 
is frequently need of haste. 

ALPHABETING SLIPS 

Except in very short indexes the slips should be alphabeted often, 
later blocks of slips being added to those already alphabeted as 
soon as they are verified, so that when the last block is added the 
alphabeting of the whole index is finished. Frequent alphabeting 
is of practical service to the indexer as the work proceeds, the 
alphabeted slips being much easier to consult for forms of headings, 
etc. than the marked proofs; it also makes a large mass of slips 
easier to handle. 

Trays for alphabeting. A small five division tray serves for 
alphabeting newly written slips when this is done frequently. If 
a large number must be alphabeted at one time the work is more 
quickly accomplished by means of a 24 division tray. If the 
heavier letters are likely to require much space, leave two com¬ 
partments each for B, C and S, combining I and J, P and Q, and 
X, Y and Z in single compartments. It will aid inexperienced 
assistants if each compartment is labeled plainly with its letter. If 
each compartment has invariably assigned to it a certain letter it 
will soon require very slight attention to place the slips for a given 
letter in the right comipartment, and no more than this lieed be 
attempted in a first rough alphabeting. Next take each letter by 
itself and alphabet exactly in the small tray. In an extremely 
elaborate index it may be worth while to take a second large tray 
and arrange by second or even third letter, words beginning with 
Ab, Ac, Aba, Abb, Aca,.etc. before final alphabeting. Familiarity 
with the headings of an index will suggest devices to lessen the 
tedium of alphabeting a large number of slips; e. g. if a certain 
name or subject heading occurs very often it is a gain in the first 
alphabeting to put all the slips containing it in another tray instead 
of throwing them in with the other slips of that letter. 


490 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


ARRANGEMENT OF MODIFICATIONS 

Before final alphabeting this puzzling question must be decided: 
Shall the modifications under each heading be arranged in order 
of entry (i. e. order of occurrence) or alphabetically ? In answer¬ 
ing it the nature and use of the index must be the determining 
factor. Order of entry is quite generally used in books brought 
out by prominent publishers and is appropriate to the largest 
number of indexes. But neither arrangement should be slavishly 
followed throughout an index if a different grouping under certain 
headings would be more useful. Few searchers will study out 
your plan and hold you to it. 

Alphabetic order. In indexes of ideas [see p. ^46 9] prefer generally 
alphabetic order, alphabeting by the most significant word, not 
necessarily the word that by chance stands first in the modifying 
phrase. The important word may sometimes be brought to the 
first position by inversion, but this should never be done if the 
result is awkward and confusing; e. g. 

Americans, activity, 329; conser¬ 
vatism, 201; crime no shock to, 

216; destiny, 325, 418; value 

dexterity, 211; Dickens on, 167; 
dress with good sense, 86; con¬ 
trasted with English, 125; def¬ 
erence to English, 161, 370; lack 
faith, 237; gentlemen, 419; lack 
idealism, 418; impulsiveness, 414. 

[From index to Riverside edition of Emerson’s TForA;^] 
Here the words “ dexterity,” ” English,” ” faith ” and “ ideal¬ 
ism,” determine the alphabetic arrangement though they do not 
lead in the phrase. 

Order of entry. Under biographic and historical headings, follow 
order of entry, which is in most cases at least approximately 
chronologic, e. g. 

Barclay, Rev. Henry, born at Al¬ 
bany, 6; graduated at Yale, 6; rec¬ 
tor of St Peter’s Church, Albany, 

7 ; rector of Trinity Church, N. Y., 

8; marries, 9; doctor of divinity, 

10; death, ii 

This is easily followed and convenient. An alphabetic arrange¬ 
ment would have made the clergym.an’s death and elevation to 
the dignity of the doctor’s degree follow immediately his birth, 
and precede his graduation from Yale, marriage and rectorships, 
conditions which offend one’s sense of fitness, even in an index. 


INDEXING 


491 


It is still more objectionable in cases where there are many mod¬ 
ifications having no salient alphabetic key words to guide the 
seeker, who flounders helplessly and in no pleasant humor through 
time and space. 

When a large number of entries must be given under the name 
of the subject of a biography or, e, g. under the name of Washing¬ 
ton or Wellington in histories of the Revolution or Peninsular 
War, prominent divisions of the man’s life may be made chrono¬ 
logic subheads, or brought out in black face or italic type, to attract 
attention. The index to Froude’s Erasmus groups entries under 
Erasmus as follows: 

Erasmus: (a few general entries here) 

Youth (20 entries) 

First visit to England, 14^7 (15 entries) 

In the Netherlands and France (21 entries) 

Visits to England and to Italy 
Fourth visit to England 
In the Netherlands 
Period of contest 
After Charles V’s election 
After the Diet of Worms 
After election of Adrian VI 
After election of Clement VII 
His later years 
Diet of Augsburg 

His last days ■* ^ > 

His writings 
Letters of, to 

Entries are arranged in order of occurrence under all the subheads, 
except the last, where names of correspondents are given in alpha¬ 
betic order. 

Logical order. Follow logical order or order of importance when 
clearly desirable; e. g. 

Students, classes, 437^-38^; class of 
iQOi, 450^; class of igo2, 450*-$i^; 
elective work, 441®; geographic 
summary, 437^ 

There is no reason why in the same index alphabetic arrangement 
may not be used for the fuller headings, and order of entry for 
those covering few entries or relating to biographic or historical 
matter, with occasional logical groupings if desirable. 

Relative advantages. In deciding between order of entry and 
alphabetic order for general arrangement of modifications, bear 
in mind relative advantages and disadvantages. Alphabetic order 
is a useful guide when the alphabetic key words are such as might 
readily occur to the searcher, enabling him to turn directly to the 


492 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


required information. For matter about which h*? would probably 
have in mind a chronologic rather than an alphabetic outline, order 
of entry is better. One great advantage of order of entry is that 
if the searcher finds it necessary to consult all page references, 
under a heading, he is sent through the volume or volumes in order, 
instead of being forced to lose time in turning back and forth, as- 
the alphabetic arrangement would probably require. In a long 
index where there are a great many modifications under headings 
other than biographic or historical, and particularly when the 
modifications are brief, alphabetic order is generally more con¬ 
venient. This is almost invariably true when the index is to be 
printed in entry a line form [see p. 496]. 

Consistency. The indexer should not magnify too much the 
importance of his scheme. He should remember that the user of 
the index will never read it through or make any profound study 
of its plan, but will look for specific information and wish to find it 
in each case by the simplest means. Consistency is to be shown 
in making entries always clear and convenient for the user, not in 
following always the same process. When uniform methods will 
aid, follow them; when they will confuse or impede, forsake them. 

When the plan for order of modifications has been settled, the 
general direction may be given the assistant, special arrangement 
under certain headings being a part of the indexer’s work in editing. 

Subheads. In very exact and complicated work, oftenest in 
indexes to technical matter, subheads and sub-subheads are used 
to avoid repetition and the crowding of material under too general 
modifications. If a modification has but two submodifications, 
they are better retained in the general group unless clearness would- 
be sacrificed; e. g. 

Governors, power increased, 17®; mes¬ 
sages an aid to comparative legis¬ 
lation, 20®; messages on problems 
in school organization, 22^-23^; veto 
power, 37 ®- 39 ^ 

Three or more submodifications justify grouping under a subhead,. 


e. g* 


Boundaries, ii®, 22®, 22^; 

Connecticut: 269^, 270®; articles 
of agreement, 34^; assembly . act 
concerning, 272^; Connecticut river 
as boundary, 463®; 

commissioners: 279^; appointed, 
297®; instructions to, 298®; report, 
299® 


INDEXING 


493 


The subjects here are really three: (i) Boundaries (2) Boundaries, 
Connecticut (3) Boundaries, Connecticut, commissioners; the 
last entry stated in full in the natural order would be: Report of 
the commissioners on the boundaries of Connecticut. 

The sub-subhead, illustrated by “ commissioners ” in the last 
example, is seldom needed, but removes a difficulty as serious as 
it is infrequent. For examples of forms used in line indexes see 
p. 496. In paragraphed indexes [see p. 496J subheads should follow 
the single modifications, whether these have been grouped in 
order of entry or alphabetically, and should be given in alphabetic 
sequence unless a logical order is plainly more useful. In the 
entry a line index modifications and subheads are arranged in 
one alphabet. 

ARRANGEMENT OF CROSS REFERENCES 

In paragraphed indexes all cross references are arranged alphabeti¬ 
cally after all modifications, whether the latter are in a single group 
under main heading or divided among subheads. In line indexes 
general references from one subject to another are alphabeted at 
the end, but a reference from a specific modification follows that 
modification. 

EDITING 

Cooperative work. The importance of careful editing can hardly 
be overemphasized. Where many hands have been at work 
inconsistencies and omissions are inevitable. Poole's Index to 
Periodical Literature, prepared with the cooperation of the Amer¬ 
ican Library Association, an invaluable tool to librarians, illustrates 
the dangers attending cooperative work. Material is divided 
between the headings “ Country life” and “ Rural life,” “ X-rays’^ 
and “ Roentgen rays,” “Cycling” and “ Bicycling,” with incomplete 
cross reference or none at all. Under “Eddystone lighthouse” three 
references are given, while in the same volume [1882-87] a fourth 
paper appears under “Lighthouses on the Eddystone rocks,” no 
cross reference being provided with either heading. In the volume 
covering 1887-92 the headings “Athlete,” “Athletic clubs,” “Athletic 
sports” and “Athletics ” are given. These include entries of articles 
on athletics in Harvard, Amherst, Cornell, and in France, Switzer¬ 
land etc.; but under the heading “ Harvard” are found entries on the 
athletic controversy at Harvard and on football at Harvard, and 
under “ Eton ” an entry on athletics at Eton, not repeated under 
“Athletics.” There are no connecting cross references. To happen 
on these things shakes the searcher’s confidence; he wonders how 
many more stray entries might be found under other headings* 


494 


NEW YORK STATE ITERARY 


The natural and often justifiable impulse to accept the title word 
if it satisfactorily represents the subject in indexing magazine 
articles, results, when 150 periodicals are indexed by 50 persons 
working independently, in the scattering of identical subjects under 
many more or less synonymous headings. Only he who gathers 
the converging threads can see all the material, and to bring it into 
proper relation and secure a consistent whole will tax his vigilance 
to the utmost. Though the urgency of revision is specially evident 
for cooperative work, it is not less true that the work of one person 
needs sharp scrutiny after all the material is in hand. 

Points to be corrected in editing. It is usually a waste of time 
to attempt final editing till all slips are alphabeted, so that the 
indexer can consult any heading from A to Z. It is at this point 
that new relations reveal themselves and inconsistencies, unavoid¬ 
able in an index of much length, are most easily detected. They 
will be found in forms of headings, fulness of indexing, wording of 
modifications and use of cross references. Many of them may be 
discovered by reading the slips through slowly, but the most glar¬ 
ing omissions and inaccuracies are discovered through a conscien¬ 
tious comparison of synonymous or allied headings. This fre¬ 
quently leads to extensive changes; e. g. transferring modifica¬ 
tions from one heading to another and substituting cross references; 
changing a “ see ” reference to a duplication or partial duplication 
of matter under a related heading; cutting out a heading and 
dividing its modifications among other more specific headings; 
condensing a number of modifications into one by broadening the 
statement, or substituting for a too comprehensive modification 
more specific ones. Such radical changes can not be made without 
frequent reference to the text, particularly if the matter referred to 
is not clearly in mind. 

Synonyms. The synonyms of subject headings must be con¬ 
sidered and, if any of value have been previously overlooked, 
either cross references or added entries must be made. 

Cross references. New cross references must sometimes be m^ade 
to link related headings [see Cross references, p. 480] and cross refer¬ 
ences already made must be carefull)^ traced throughout the slips, 
or the reader will find references to headings which have been cut 
out and none to those which take their place. 

Class and specific headings. Class and specific headings require 
careful editing. For instance, if “ Zoology ” is made a heading, 
recall its subdivisions and if any have been brought out as head¬ 
ings see that cross reference to them is made. If both “Ani- 


INDEXING 


495 


mals ” and “ Zoology ” have been used, discard one heading if 
possible, retaining the one more appropriate to the text; make 
reference in either case; e. g. 

Zoology, see Animals 

Animals, see also Baboon; Fox; Lion 

Birds, see also Robin; Vireo 

If there are entries under a great number of species it may be 
better to substitute a general reference: 

Animals, see also names of animals 
Birds, see also names of birds 

This form is rarely preferable except in “growing indexes.” 

Take care that no reference to a special animal or bird is entered 
under the general instead of under the more specific heading. 

When it is decided late in the work to throw certain matter under 
a subhead or sub-subhead make sure that its modifications are 
reworded to suit the new arrangement, and that under it is placed 
every modification which rightfully belongs there. 

Cancelations. Superfluous words which have been allowed to 
stand on the slips should now be canceled and words injudiciously 
canceled on slips be restored [see p. 476-77]. 

Questions of doubtful treatment, which have been noted on the 
slips in verifying, must be settled and the notes canceled to pre¬ 
vent confusing the assistant when copying or mounting slips. 

Finally, any desired rearrangement in order of modifications 
must be made. 

FORMS OF PRINTING 

Style. The two commonest forms of index are (i) paragraphed 
and (2) entry a line. Both forms have hanging indention, i. e. 
every heading begins flush with the left side of the column, and 
each succeeding line is indented or set in. 

I Paragraphed index. In the paragraphed index, the modifica¬ 
tions and references under headings follow close on each other, 
forming a block or solid column. The paragraph is broken for: 
(a) a subhead, distinguished by first indention; (6) a sub-subhead, 
having second indention; (c) a cross reference after subhead or 
sub-subhead, which is in a line with preceding modifications; e. g. 


496 


NEW YORK STATE LIKKARY 


Tables, description, 51^ See also 
Statistics 

Technical schools, bulletin on, i6'*; 
power to grant certificates, 51®, 

135^-362; legislation affecting, 137^- 
40 ^; 

statistics: 74-81, 475-91; com¬ 
mencement, 478; days in session, 

73, 478; incorporation, 476; prop¬ 
erty, 484-87; students, 480-82 
See also Professional schools; Uni¬ 
versities, statistics 

Temple Grove seminary, Saratoga 
Springs, statistics, 526-41 

2 Entry a line index. This differs in arrangement of modifica¬ 
tions and subheads. Each modification after the first begins a 
line, slightly indented (i em) under the heading, formiing an even 
column at the left, unbroken except when a modification overruns 
the line. Subheads have the same arrangemient,. but - a -deeper 
indention. This form is most commonly used for word and name 
indexes and is much easier to refer to than the paragraphed index, 
but occupies more space; e. g. 

Earnings, see Wages 

Editors, 2534 

Education, 164-718; 1187-88 

boards of, 191, 207, 217-36, 264 
277, 320 

city boards, 164, 202,: ,256-57, 

331-32, 40Q 

count}’' boards, 164, 168, 174 
district boards, 174-75, 351 
state boards, 164, 175 
territorial boards, 170 
higher, 525 -99 
professional, 590-99 

See also Schools; Universities 

Educational bulletins, 225 

corporations, 1227, 1234-35, 1662 
institutions, 1405, 1493-98, 2998 
See also Schools; Universities 
journals, 164 

Ejectment, 2875-78 

3 Combined form. By a combination of the paragraphed and 
entry a line index it is possible to secure much of the condensation 
of the first with the prominent alphabeting of the second in modi¬ 
fications which do not lend themselves easily to the entry a line 
form; e. g. 


(i em indention) 
(3 ems “ ) 

(2,ems “ ) 

(3 ems “ ) 


INDEXING 


497 


Bird psychology^ 46 
courage, 2S‘^ 
dissimulation, 32 

individuality, lo-ii ; 

inherited instincts, 27 

intelligence shown in ' 

building, 52; bringing up young, 

18; cooperatioil, 18; getting food, 

262; protecting young, 39; strat¬ 

egy, 39-40 

play impulse, 75 
storing habit, 133 

[From Merriam’s Birds of Village and Field, Houghton| 
COPYING 

General rules. The following rules' 7 apply to both paragraphed 
and entry a line forms: 

Write legibly in black ink on only one side of uniform sheets; 
make sure that figures and punctuation can not be mistaken. 
Leave wide margin at left and generous spaces between lines to 
allow interpolation. Keep headings in vertical line, indenting 
about an inch modifications which overrun the width of the page. 

Write each heading once and pay no attention to its repetition 
on the slips, copying only the modifications. Single out all the 
slips under one heading when its copying is begun, making certain 
where the next heading begins. 

“ See and See also.^^ In references from one heading to 
another the word “ see ” should be preceded by a comma and writ¬ 
ten wdth a small 5; but “See also,” which always stands at the 
beginning of a sentence, should be preceded by a period and written 
with a capital S; underline in both cases, to indicate italic type. 
Write words “ see ” and “ see also ” only once, but begin each 
heading referred to with a capital, and separate them by semi 
colons. 

Period. Omit periods at ends of paragraphs. 

Dates in italic. Underlinerall dates for italic type; e. g. Prin^ 
cipals council, i 8 gj, 14^ 

Inclusive figures. Write inclusive figures thus: 

4-17 175-76 2107-209 

27-29 137-233 2137-38 

107-9 2007-9 1987-2000 

That is, write out last two figures of second paging, except where a naught 
preceding the last figure or a change in the initial figure interferes with the 
rule. 

Abbreviations. Write out words which have been abbreviated 
on the slips if the short form would offend on the printed page 
e. g. “and,” not “&,” “examinations,” not ‘exams.” Abbre 



498 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


viations may be used somewhat more freely in an index than else¬ 
where but should not be multiplied to confusion. If an elaborate 
system is employed under urgent need of economy of space, a 
running footnote should be given referring to the page where the 
explanatory table is to be found. 

Space between letters. Leave extra space between initial A and 
B, and so on throughout the alphabet, inserting the word “slug.” 
Draw a line (or “ ring ”) round this and other directions, the 
“ ring ” being the sign to the printer that words are not to be 
printed. 

Numbered sheets. Number finished sheets consecutively with 
large figures in upper right hand corner. Do not roll or fold. 

Special rules for paragraphed index. The following rules apply 
only to the paragraphed index: 

Separate modifications under each heading by semicolon. 

Indent subheads; but if modifications under subheads over¬ 
run the width of the page, bring second and following lines out to 
the vertical line of modifications under heading. In case of sub¬ 
subhead indent again and bring second and following lines out 
to vertical line of first subhead. Follow the page reference imme¬ 
diately preceding the indented subhead by a semicolon, and sep¬ 
arate the subhead and its modifications by a colon [see illustra¬ 
tions, p. 496]. 

Special rules for entry a line. Begin each modification on a 
new line. Do not capitalize first word of modifications unless it 
is a proper name or other word which under editing rules requires 
a capital. 

First word. If several entries begin with the same word, do not 
repeat unless necessary to prevent ambiguity [see p. 499] but indent 
modifications; e. g. 

Cotton, 1546 

factory insurance companies, 1773 

gins, 502 

seed meal, 1473 

Follow the same principle where several modifications under head¬ 
ing begin with the same word, using a second indention. 

“ See also.” “ See also ” should be written with a capital S, 
<on a separate line, with a second indention, and underlined for 
italic type [see illustrations, p. 496]. 

Combined word and subject index. In rare instances a combi¬ 
nation of the word index and subject index is desirable. In this 
case, apply rules for line index to lists ofjwords more easily con¬ 
sulted in that form, and rules for paragraphed index to all other 
headings. 


INDEXING 


499 


PASTING 

A much quicker method of preparing slips for printing is to paste 
them consecutively on large- sheets of paper, overlapping them 
when the entry does not cover the whole slip. If, after editing, 
the slips are perfectly legible, this method is feasible (i) when the 
index is not too complicated; (2) when the slips will not be needed 
again. In case of separate volumes of a set or numbers of a series 
the consolidated index is most easily constructed from the slips 
of the separate indexes, with careful reediting. Slips should also 
be preserved in case of annual reports similar in plan from year 
to year, when changing the page references will often save half 
the work of slip writing. 

FINAL PREPARATION FOR PRINTER 

If the index is copied, the manuscript must be carefully compared 
with the slips. This is most quickly and accurately done by two 
persons, the assistant reading aloud from the slips while the indexer 
follows the copy. The reader must give carefully not only words, 
but significant punctuation and the spelling of proper names where 
there is a possibility of mistake. 

Take care that in case of persons with same surname or wholly 
identical names, or of words identical in spelling but different in 
meaning (homonyms), the heading is repeated. Otherwise ludi¬ 
crous mistakes are likely to occur, most often in line indexes; e. g. 

Lead, copper 
metallurgy 

kindly light (Newman) 
poisoning 

or (from the index to Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations) 

Sow for him, build for him, 470 

he that observeth the wind shall not, 831 
thy seed in the morning, 831 . 
wrong, by the ear, 19, 785 
ye are like to reap, as you, 214 

Type. Indicate use of heavier type for the first word imder a 
new letter by a colored pencil line, and state its meaning on the 
sheet of directions to printer unless already understood. On the 
same sheet indicate type and leading for the whole index, dimen¬ 
sions of page and width of column. 

Indention. If the indention is usual, mark it only once in the 
margin of copy of first page, taking care to “ ring ” all such explan¬ 
atory matter to make plain that it is not to be set up. Indicate 
indention of subheads and sub-subheads by outlining a small square^ 
the printer’s sign for indention, in the margin where they occur. 
If the indention is to be more than i em, write the number of ems 
in the rectangle; e. g. 


oOO 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


Education, 164-718, 1187-88 
ji^m] boards of, 191, 207, 217-36, 264, 

[3 emsj 277, 320 

|2~ems| city boards, 218, 223, 2223, 2227, 

2231, 2233, 2243, 2245, 2267, 

2283, 2350 

county boards, 2230, 2235, 2240 

Pasted copy. If the slips have been pasted, all the omissions 
and corrections that would have been made in copying must be 
indicated. Cross out all repetitions of a heading and, if the 
index is to be printed in paragraphed form, connect the modifica¬ 
tions by semicolons and tracers. Correct illegible letters and 
figures, inaccurate punctuation and capitalization, and write in 
the necessary marginal directions as on ordinary copy. This is 
particular work and should always be done by the indexer. 
Last of all run quickly over the alphabeting of headings which may 
have become slightly disarranged in copying or pasting and failed 
to Tatch the reviser’s attention, directed to details of individual 
entries. 


PROOF-READING 

The proofs should be carefully read by the indexer, with mind 
alert for mistakes and omissions, whether his own or the com¬ 
positor’s. The alphabeting should again be gone over, preferably 
in page proofs after most of the corrections have been made- 
On page proof also the heading, followed by the word “ continued ” 
in curves and italicized, must be inserted wherever entries over¬ 
run a column; e. g. 


Property, 377 

actions affecting, 739 
conveyances of, 392 
damages to, 384 
judicial sales, 736 


Property {continued) 
lines, 386 
personal, 400 
real estate, 379 
titles to, 381 


It is also well in a long index which has come from the printer in 
sections, to verify all cross references on the final proof, to make 
sure that none have been invalidated by alterations while the work 
was in progress. These are hard sayings because they involve 
drudgery; but the indexer who lacks patience to take infinite 
pains for the sake of verbal accuracy, to be vigilant to the verge 
of fussiness, has missed his vocation, however great his mental 
power and learning. An erroneous reference is a bibliographic 
crime. 


INDEXING PERIODICALS 


Classified indexes. There is no branch of indexing more important 
at present than indexing periodicals, and, unfortunately, few 
serial publications are indexed completely or according to a rational 


INDEXING 


501 


plan. A large proportion offer instead of a true table of subjects 
in one alphabet, several alphabetic lists of titles or subjects found 
in the various departments of the magazine, under such headings 
as “The Week,” “Editorial,” “Contributed articles,” “Corres¬ 
pondence.” This forces the seeker to consult several alphabets 
to obtain all material on a given subject, and often separates state¬ 
ments of fact from editorial comment or the criticism of correspond¬ 
ents. The New York Nation index has seven separate alphabets, 
under “The Week at home,” “Abroad,” “Notes,” “Editorial 
and miscellaneous,” “Special correspondence,” “Occasional cor¬ 
respondence ” (an inane distinction to the consulter of an index), 
“Titles of books reviewed,” followed by page references without 
analysis under “ Books of the week.” A still more irritating exam¬ 
ple of this tendency to classify what for convenience of reference 
should be alphabeted is the index to the London Athenaeum, an 
elaborate piece of work which John Denison Champlin, who through 
long experience as a compiler of useful information has gained 
wide acquaintance with indexes and authority to criticize, char¬ 
acterizes as “interesting as a puzzle, but deficient in almost every 
quaility that should go toward the making of a useful index . . . 
a series of useless wheels within wheels.” Its five grand divisions 
are “ Literature,” “Science,” “Fine arts,” “Music,” “Drama”; 
each of these departments is subdivided into five or six groups 
varying somewhat in caption, the headings under “Literature” 
being “ Reviews,” “ Poetry,” “ Original papers,” “ Obituaries,” 
“ Gossip.” The result is some 27 alphabets, inconvenient for 
searchers who have studied the plan and hopeless without such 
study. 

Symbols to mark class. Some indication is needed in the index 
of the scope and form of matter cited. A reader wishes to know 
whether he is being referred to a brief note or an extended treat¬ 
ment, an official editorial statement or a hospitable presentation 
of opinions possibly not indorsed by the editor. This can be 
attained in a .single alphabet by use of compact abbreviations or 
symbols to distinguish different forms of editorial matter, corres¬ 
pondence, contributed papers, etc. or to call attention to illustrated 
articles. Letters, stars, daggers etc. may be employed; whatever 
scheme is devised should always be carefully explained at the 
beginning of each volume index. 

Book reviews and poetry. The only exception to the rule already 
quoted that an index should be one and indivisible [see p. 467] is 
in favor of grouping book reviews and poems by themselves, either 


502 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


at the end or under B and P in the main alphabet. The reason for 
this treatment of book notices is that they constitute a peculiar 
class of entries often sought as such, and if dispersed by initial 
through the main alphabet of subjects and authors would be 
easily confused with entries of a different character, and even if 
distinguished by a symbol would be traced with much effort. 
It is, therefore, hardly a violation of the general rule to treat “ Book 
notices” as a subject heading and alphabet under it, and the superior 
convenience of that arrangement is generally conceded by those 
who have most occasion to consult reviews. This group should 
include all the critical estimates of books which the volume con¬ 
tains, whether found in a department specially devoted to reviews 
or under some individual title in the body of the magazine. A 
critical paper entitled “Six Notable Novels” need hardly ap¬ 
pear in the index under title, but each of the six novels must 
be brought out. If several books on a single subject are grouped 
for review under a significant title, e. g. “Tuscan sculpture” or 
‘‘The praise of Switzerland,” it may be well not only to enter 
the books reviewed under “ Book notices,” but also to bring out 
such title in the main alphabet. 

Poems are separately grouped for similar reasons. Persons 
seeking them probably will not remember exact titles but can 
quickly identify a poem sought in a comparatively small group. 
Perhaps the most satisfactory plan is to alphabet titles, followed 
by author’s surname in curves, under the heading “ Poems,” and 
enter each poem also under author in the general alphabet, the 
word “poem” following the title in curves; e. g. 

Poems 

Three things (Scollard) 

Watcher, The (Dickinson) 

In the main alphabet: 

Dickinson, Martha G. The watcher (poem) 

Scollard, Clinton. Three things (poem) 

Title indexes. Another unsatisfactory tt^'pe of magazine index, 
though in one alphabet, gives only actual titles of articles without 
attempt to bring out subjects where the titles give no clue. Where 
the title satisfactorily indicates the subject the key word should 
be brought to the front by inversion, if necessary; e. g. 

Cromwell, Constitutional experiments of 
Here a second entry in the natural order might well be made 
for readers seeking national or constitutional history. 

Cuba, American misgovernment of 
Gilbert, Mrs, Stage reminiscences of 
Art and philosophy, ancient feud between 


INDEXING 


503 


Here a possible second entry should be under “ Philosophy ” 
rather than “ Ancient.” 

Mere inversion of title will not, however, always produce satis¬ 
factory results, as is easily illustrated: “Mule go, Must the canal?” 
does not properly represent a discussion of the use of electric motors 
on canals. “ Better, The less of it the” is not an illuminating entry. 
It may sometimes be necessary to good sense, and therefore justifi¬ 
able, to make slight alterations in form when titles are inverted; 
e- g. 

Lamp, Maggie Murphy incandescent 
Halibut, Shipping the Pacific coast east 
would be better represented by 

Lamp, incandescent; The Maggie Murphy 
Halibut, Shipping east from Pacific coast.‘ 

The searcher who comes to the index for a certain subject without 
previous knowledge of the actual content of the volume must find 
his clue under subject. He knows nothing of picturesque titles 
invented to attract persons not previously conscious of interest in 
the subject. Nor does the averag-e reader of periodicals often 
recall the exact title of an article, and unless it is odd or striking 
enough to remain in his memory his search is always for the person, 
place or subject written about or the author of an interesting 
essay or clever story, the title of which was of minor importance 
and quickly forgotten. Therefore, if both subject and title can 
not be included, omit the title entry. 

Striking titles. In some instances, however, entries should be 
made under titles which afford no clue to the real subject. A 
paper by Bradford Torrey on the habits of humming birds was 
published in the Atlantic Monthly entitled “A Widow and Twins.” 
This striking title might easily remain in the reader’s mind whether 
he had read the paper or simply glanced through the table of con¬ 
tents with a view to future reading, and it is properly brought 
out under 

“Widow and twins. A.” (Torrey) 

The subject entry would be: 

Humming birds: A widow and twins (Torrey) 
and an author entry: 

Torrey, Bradford, A widow and twins 
would meet the needs, of-those in search of Mr Torrey’s writings. 
Subject and title entries for the paper “Hunting Big Game with 
the Camera” might be as follows: 

^ These examples of “how not to do it” are taken from existing indexes. 



504 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


Photography of animals. Hunting big game with the camera 

Animal photography. Hunting big game with the camera 

Camera, Hunting big game with the 

The first entry is imperative, the second desirable; the third 
might be spared without serious loss if strict economy of space 
must be practised. The following examples further illustrate the 
principle: 

United States, commerce. Our nation and the trade of the world 
Vancouver island. Under the western pines 
Philippines. ’ Uncle Sam’s legacy of slaves 
Negroesf Transplantation of a race 

An exception is made of fiction and poetry, which are in most 
cases best entered under first word of title not an article [see also 
p. 502]. 

Series on one subject. Where a series of articles on one 
general subject but with con-siderable variety of title is to be 
indexed they should be assembled in alphabetic order under the gen¬ 
eral subject heading; or, a reference may be made from the subject 
to the name of the writer, under which the several titles should 
appear; e. g. 

Boer war, papers by James Barnes 
Between two battlefields 
Boer war in pictures 
Cronje, capture of 
From the Cape to the front 
Modder river. At 
or 

Boer war, see Barnes, James 

Barnes, James 

Between two battlefields 
Boer war in pictures 
Cronje, Capture of 
etc. 

Author entry. It should be said that most periodical indexes, 
except those of literary reviews, are at present limited to title or 
subject entry; but the value of entry under author is unquestionable, 
and the ideal index includes it. 

Entries for poetry. The importance of author entry is specially 
evident in case of poems, which do not often lend themselves 
readily to subject entry and frequently have fanciful titles furnishing 
no salient alphabetic key word. It is’Jplainly better to enter under 
title in the natural order such poems as Eugene Field’s verses To a 
Usurper, addressed to his little son, George H. Stacy’s In Days Like 
These, a prayer for the country written during the Spanish War, 
James Whitcomb Riley’s Happy Little Cripple, Emily Dickinson’s 
Called Back, Mary Thacher Higginson’s love poem In the Dark, than 


INDEXING 


505 


to make any attempt at subject entry. Nor would anything be gained 
by inverting the titles. Many readers, however, recalling the 
poems seen in a magazine, would seek them first under the 
author’s name [see p. 503]. 

RULES FOR FORM OF HEADING 

The following specific rules are those in most general use. Many 
may be found in more detail and with numerous illustrations in 
C: A. Cutter’s Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue. In following 
them remember that if a form of name chosen for entry in the index 
differs from any form in the text sufficiently to make its recogni¬ 
tion doubtful, the text form must appear in the index with a cross 
reference to the form chosen. Rules i, 3, 6, 9, 15, 17 furnish 
examples. 

Catalogue rules not always applicable to index. Bear in 
mind also that the rules quoted are primarily cataloguing 
rules and that many of them apply without question only to the 
more formal type of index suitable for bibliographies. /Rules 
which are important to secure uniformity in a catalogue may be 
absurd applied to a book index, because the catalogue relates to 
many books, and continually grows, while the index pertains only 
to a single work, and is fixed./ In ordinary book indexing it is 
generally better to use forms of name entry in general accord with 
the custom of the text indexed, making references from other 
forms only when the average reader would be likely to seek them. 
Bearing these modifications in mind the rules following will be of 
material aid in deciding doubtful questions. 

1 Pseudon3mi. Index under the real name, with reference from 
the pseudonym, unless the pseudonym is decidedly better known; 
e. g. 

Clemens, Samuel L. 

Twain, Mark, pseud, see Clemens, Samuel L. 
hut Greenwood, Grace, pseud. 

Lippincott, Mrs S. J. see Greenwood, Grace 

2 Joint authors. When an essay or article has two authors, 
index thus: 

Johnson, R.A. & Richards, O.W. Oxford liberalism 
Richards, O.W. & Johnson, R.A. Oxford liberalism 

If more than two, in very full bibliographic work index under 
each in this form: 

Miller, C.G. & others. Trust question 

In ordinary indexing a single entry under the first author’s 
name as above is generally sufficient. 

3 Changed name. Index under last well known form, making 
reference from other forms if necessary; e. g. 


506 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


Jackson, Mrs H.H. 

Hunt, Helen, see Jackson, Mrs H.H. 
hut Wiggin, Mrs K.D. [no reference from Riggs] 

If later Mrs Riggs should write under the name of Riggs, a 
reference or change of entry form would become necessary. 

4 Compound name. Index English compound names under last 
part, unless the person is better known by first part or has written 
under first part before adopting last part; e. g. 

Gould, Sabine Baring- 

Baring-Gould, Sabine, see Gould, Sabine Baring- 
hut Halliwell-Phillipps, J.O. 

Index foreign names under first part; e. g. 

Duplessis-Bochart, Guillaume Guillemot 

5 Name with preposition. Index English and French surnames 
beginning with a preposition (except the French de and d’) under 
preposition; in other languages under word following. Make 
references from other forms likely to be looked for; e. g. 

La Fontaine, Jean de 
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von 
Vinci, Leonardo da 

Da Vinci, Leonardo, see Vinci, Leonardo da 

But if such a name is anglicized enter it under preposition; e. g. 
De Quincey, Thomas 
Van Rensselaer, Stephen 

6 Noblemen. Index under highest title unless the family name 
or a lower title is decidedly better known, and make references 
from other forms when necessary; e. g. 

Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, earl of 
not Stanhope, P.D. earl of Chesterfield 
but Walpole, Robert 
not Orford, Robert Walpole, earl of 

7 Popes, sovereigns etc. Index popes, saints, sovereigns, princes, 
orientals and all others known only by their first names under 
forename, with reference when necessary; e. g. 

Napoleon 

Bonaparte, see Napoleon 

Victoria, queen of England 

Omar Khayyam 

Khayyam, Omar, see Omar Khayyam 

8 Ecclesiastical dignitaries. Index under surnames, except 
popes; e. g. 

Newman, J.H. cardinal 
Potter, H.C. bishop of New York 
Pius I o 

9 Foreign names. Index under English form unless foreign form 
is better known; e. g. 


INDEXING 


507 


Cologne, not Koln 
Raphael, not RafTaello 
but Giovanni, not John 

10 Geographic names. Index names of capes, lakes, forts, 
mountains, gulfs, bays etc. under the distinctive part of name, 
unless prefix and name have come to be inseparable in thought; e. g. 

Erie, Lake hut Fort Wayne [city] 

Rainier, Mount Lake of the Woods 

Good Hope, Cape of Bay of Islands 

Biscay, Bay of Isles of Shoals 

11 Anonymous writings. Index anonymous essays, magazine 
articles or book titles under title, ignoring articles or introductory 
phrases; except in biographies, and in many cases historical matter, 
when entry under person or place is sufficient, unless title is striking 
enough to be sought for [see p. 511]. 

12 Biography. Index biographic matter under subject as well 
as author. 

13 Official publications. Index official publications under the 
country, city, society, institution, convention or other body respons¬ 
ible for them. In case of government departments, index under 
bureau or office concerned, inverting to bring the distinctive term 
first, except where entries under country are so few that no sub- 
grouping will be required. Make references from the larger divi¬ 
sion if desirable; e. g. 

United States, Education, Bureau of 
not United States, Department of the Interior, Bureau of education 

Note that this applies positively only to bibliographies and 
catalogues. In many book indexes it is much wiser to pass over 
country name and enter directly under the subject word; e. g. 
Education. 

Prefer name of office to official title of officer,, but index under 
officer when the office has no name; e. g. 

Illinois, state entomologist 

14 Person vs officer. In ordinary book and current periodical 
indexing, enter under personal name rather than official title. In 
elaborate historical work, however, the following rule formulated 
for growing catalogues may be useful: 

Distinguish carefully between official and personal writings. 
Index opinions of judges in a suit under name of court, but opinion 
of single judge under his name. Index presidents messages under 
“President,” personal writings under his name. Make all necessary 
references. 

15 Societies, institutions. Index national and nonlocal societies, 
political parties, universities etc. under official name, with neces¬ 
sary references from place or any other form; e. g. 


508 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


American society of civil engineers 

Civil engineers, American society of, see American society of civil engineers 

Engineers, civil, see Civil engineers, or (if there are no entries under that 
heading) American society of civil engineers 

Republican party 

University of Chicago 

Chicago university, see University of Chicago / 

Index local societies, schools, churches, art galleries, libraries 
and other institutions not national under name of place where 
situated unless known by a distinctive name, when reference from 
place should be freely added; e. g. 

Royal society of London 

London, Royal society, see Royal society of London 
Hasten Park high school, Buffalo 

Buffalo, Hasten Park high school, see Hasten Park high school 

Trinity church. New York city 

New York city. Trinity church, see Trinity church 

Newark (N. Y.) First presbyterianichurch 

Boston public library • • 

Astor library. New York city 

New York city, Astor library, see Astor library 

16 Periodicals. Index name under first word of title not an 
article. If the organ of a society or club, index under name of 
periodical, with reference from society; but index regular proceed¬ 
ings or transactions of a society under its name; e. g. 

Journal of the Franklin institute 

Franklin institute. Journal, see fournal of the Franklin institute 

American institute of electrical engineers. Transactions 

17 Conventions, expositions. Index conventions, congresses and 
expositions under name if distinctive, with reference from place 
and other forms of name; under place if better known by it; e. g. 

Centennial exhibition, Philadelphia 

Philadelphia, Centennial exhibition, see Centennial exhibition 
Paris exposition, 1902 

18 Committees. Index under names of bodies to which they 
belong; e. g. 

United States Congress, manufactures. House committee on 

See also rule 13 and note. 

19 Petitions. Index petitions or publications of any unorgan¬ 
ized class under place; e. g. “Petition of merchants of Chicago” 
under “Chicago, merchants.” 

20 Ships. In general, index under first^word; but^if named after 
a person whose surname is given in full, and specially where only a 
title of honor or initials of Christian name accompany surname,enter 
under surname; add word “vessel” or a more specific term if 
desirable, in curves; e. g. 


INDEXING 


509 


Ellen R. (vessel) 

Mary Jane (tug) 

Golden Fleece (sloop) 

Sherman, Gen. W. T. (vessel) 

This rule must sometimes be set aside in order to follow common 
usage, which varies greatly; if a vessel is generally spoken of by 
the full name enter e. g. 

Dean Richmond 
Mary Powell 

RULES FOR AUTHOR AND TITLE 

For choice and form of author headings see Rules for form of 
heading, page 505. 

Full or shortened names. The fulness of authors’ names must be 
determined by the nature and use of the index. If an index contain¬ 
ing personal names is likely to be used in genealogic research full 
names should be given. In many cases the form as it occurs in the 
text is preferable; but for the average book index and for indexes 
to a series of volumes containing the same name in various forms 
the common rule is to enter single forenames in full, but to use 
initials only if more than one, unless two or more persons have 
the same surname and initials. This rule, like all others, should 
be followed in the light of common sense. The entry 
Jones, J. P., Journal 

acquires new interest and significance, and therefore greater use¬ 
fulness, if amxjlified to 

Jones, John Paul, Journal 

Titles in text. When titles of books mentioned or discussed in the 
regular text are to be included in the index, enter them as modifi¬ 
cations under author’s name, but italicized to distinguish them from 
other modifications; e. g. (in life of Goethe) 

Lessing, G.E., 1:3; Philotas, 64; Laokoon, 81; Minna, 88; in Leipzig, 96; 

Emilia Galotti, 190; death, 397, 2:92; Nathan, 196 

In indexing biography or criticism of a single author, index 
works under first word of title not an article, omitting insignificant 
introductory expressions; e. g. (if example just quoted were in 
a life of Lessing) 

Philotas, date of publication, 1:64 
Laokoon, Goethe’s opinion of, 1:81 

Book lists. In indexing classed lists of books, in library or pub¬ 
lishing work, where ready reference is of first importance and just¬ 
ifies the use of more space, a better method is to divide the kinds 
of modifications, placing the subject modifications first in a para¬ 
graph and alphabeting titles in separate lines; e. g. 


510 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


Scott, Walter, biography and criticism, 43^-44®, 62^-72^ 

- Complete poetical works, 91^ 

- Fair maid of Perth, 72'^ 

- Guy Mannering, 72® 

- Ivanhoe, 92® 

The use of the dash for repetition of heading is well recognized, 
saves space and in most cases reduces entries to a line, facilitating 
reference. In case of joint authorship two dashes are used; e. g. 
Howell, G.R. Date of settlement of colony of New York, 326® 
- Early history of Southampton, 460^ 

- &, Tenney, Jonathan. Bicentennial history of Albany, 486® 

-County of Schenectady, 498^ 

The same method is followed in “body as author” headings, 
i. e. books published by a society, corporation or organized body of 
any kind; e. g. 

Danbury (Ct.), 256^-57' , 

- Town records of births, 256® 

Danbury, First congregational church. Bicentennial celebration, 256® 
The word “Danbury” is repeated in the last entry, because 
Danbury alone, which the dash would represent, is not the com¬ 
plete form for the author. 

When for convenience or clearness explanatory matter is to be 
added, curves may be introduced; e. g. (for authors in a list of 
biographies) 

Alcott, L.M. 43® (Bolton); 53® (Cheney) 

- Life, letters and journals, 53^ 

Where such an arbitrary scheme is employed, however, an explana¬ 
tion should preface the index, such as: “In biography entries, 
authors’ names are given in curves.” 

Title entry is most common in indexes to periodicals and classed 
book lists. Neither differentiation of type nor use of quotes is 
necessary, owing to absence or infrequency of subject entries, or 
uniform practice of indenting titles under subject headings, as in* 
Annual Literary Index and Poole's Index to Periodical Literature. 
When author’s name is to be added, the following forms are in 
common use: 

Conduct of life. (Emerson), 56® 

Conduct of life. R.W.Emerson, 56® 

Conduct of life. Emerson, 56® 

Conduct of life. Emerson, R.W.56® 

Use of leaders in the last example is unnecessary and confusing 
to the eye, and is being very generally discarded; nor should the 
author’s name be inverted except in certain catalogues and 
bibliographies where it is desirable to alphabet surnames under 
heading [see p. 477]. 













INDEXING 


511 


In general, with the exceptions indicated in the following rules, 
index, under first word, entering title in the natural order, but omit 
all unnecessary words; e. g. 

David Grieve for History of David Grieve 
Lafayette for Life of Lafayette 
hut Life of George Washington studied anew 
Geography and history of Shantung 

for General outlines of the geography and history of the Province of Shan¬ 
tung; a sketch of its missions and notes of a journey to the tomb of 
Confucius 

In indexing book lists, shorten lengthy titles ofjold books, by 
rewording if necessary, being careful to choose the important part 
of title and to express it correctly; e. g. 

Opinion on establishing courts of justice in New York colony 
for Mr Smith’s opinion humbly offered to the general assembly of the colony 
of New York on the 7th of June 1734 at their request, occasioned by 
sundry petitions of the city of New York, Westchester county and 
Queens county praying an establishment of courts of justice within 
the said colony by act of the legislature. 

In applying the above rules note that they refer strictly to title 
entry and to entry of title under author. Strict title entries may 
be superfluous even in title book lists when the subject side is 
emphasized by inverting title to enter under the subject word. 

In indexing under title, i.e. title entry, transpose an article or 
introductory expression which has been retained for the sake of 
clearness; e. g. 

New England boyhood, A 
Lady or the tiger. The 
Sixth sense. The 
Spanish literature. History of 
Electric lighting. Guide to 
Paris, Studies of 

Omit alternative titles unless more significant than the first 
title; e. g. 

Italian child-life 

for Italian child-life; or, Marietta’s good times v 
Hans Brinker 

for Hans Brinker; or. The silver skates 
Index biographic titles under person treated of, a second entry 
under title being made only when it is striking enough to be looked 
for;e. g. 

Nelson, Horatio, Lord 
for Life of Horatio, Lord Nelson 

Franklin, Benjamin, True story of 
and True story of Benjamin Franklin 
Ga,rfield, James A. 

and From the log cabin to the White House 


512 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


.RULES FOR ALPHABETING 

Carry out the alphabetic principle strictly, in arranging headings, 
not disregarding it after the 3d, 4th, 13th or 14th letter. “Put 
Constantinople before Constantinopolitanus on principle.” This 
sqems obvious, but the indexer is sometimes tempted to violate 
the rule in case of plurals for the sake of bringing related headings' 
together; e. g. “Car” may be separated from “Cars” by “Caribbean 
sea,” “Carrara,” “Carriages,” “Carriers,” etc. Plurals ending in “ies” 
may be widely removed from their singulars ending in “y.” In a 
large majority 6 i cases all entries may be combined under a single 
form. If, however, this proves impracticable or too awkward, let 
each take its proper alphabetic place and connect them by cross 
references each way. ; 

I General principles, a “Nothing precedes something,” or, to 
state the same idea inversely, “Something follows nothing.” This 
obvious truism is often overlooked, though it is sufficient to settle 
many questions puzzling at hrst glance. ■ Specific applications are 
stated as rules 7 and 9. Exception is made in rules 4 and 8, which 
relate tomames and words variously printed. In applying it, con¬ 
sider the space between words as nothing and follow the principle 
thus: 

Alphabet an-entry by its first word, letter by letter as in a dic- 
tionar}^; if the word is the same in two or more entries, alphabet 
by the next word, and so on. Entries should first be arranged 
word by word and not alphabeted letter by letter throughout; 


e. g. 

Art and culture 


not Art and culture 


Art journal 
Art thoughts 
Artesian wells 
Articles of religion 
Arts of design 
Arts of the Athenians 


Artesian wells 
Articles of religion 
Art journal 
Arts of design 
Arts of the Athenians 
Art thoughts 


b Entries are alphabeted by the headings, whether these are 
complete in one word or made up of several words, modifications 
under heading being disregarded; e. g. 

Esopus, land patent, 99; powers of sheriff, 147 ; writs sent to, 148 
Esopus Indians, 113 _ 

Note that the principle applies even when there is no punctuation 
to separate heading from modification; e. g. 


Elm on Boston common 
Elm beetle 

Here “on Boston common” is a modification of the subject “Elm,” 
but because there is only one modification and the entry is in the 
natural order, no' punctuation is required.' ' ' 



INDEXING 


513 


2 Identical first words. Persons precede places and places pre¬ 
cede titles when first word is identical; e. g. 

Eliot, C.W . ' 

Eliot. L.A. 

Eliot (Me.) 

Eliot historical society 

Eliot miscellany 

3 Identical forenames and surnames. Put forenames of rulers, 
princes, popes, saints and ancients before same names as sur¬ 
names; e. g. 

George 3 

^ ‘ George, Henry 


4 Surnames with prefixes. Treat proper names beginning with 
particles as single words; e. g. 


Demetral, Louis 
De Meyer, Nicholas 
De Mill, Peter 
De Milt, Obadiah 
Dernier, George 


Demon, M. 

Demorest, Alfred - • 

De Morest, John . 

De Mott, Mathias ^ 

Demure, Christian 


Alphabet abbreviated prefixes M’ and Me, S., St, Ste, as if written 
in full, Mac, Sanctus, Saint, Sainte; e. g.' 


Mabuse, Jan St Pierre, J.H.B.de 

McCormick, C.H, Saint-Simon, comte de ’ ^ 

MacDonald, George St Vincent, earl 

Salt, Sir Titus 

This rule does not apply to L’ and O’ since the prefixes of 
which they are contractions are not pronounced; e. g. 

Lasher, John 
L’ Asseur, Gabriel 

Latham, Beverley . <■ > 

5 Surnames identical. Put surname used alone before the same 


surname with only a title or with forename, and a surn^-fne with 
only a title before the same surname with initials or forename. 
Alphabet together initials and forenames, an initial • always pre¬ 
ceding a name beginning with the same letter; e. g. 

Adams, - Adams, C.W. ^ , 

Adams, Captain Adams, J.L. 

Adams, Major Adams, James ' 

Adams, A.J. ' Adams, M.A. 

6 Whole names identical. When names of different persons are 
identical, .alphabet by distinguishing title, place of residence,, 
occupation or dates, to be supplied if not given in text; e. g. 

Clark, Capt. Samuel 
Clark, Rev. Samuel 
Hill, James, of Glasgow 
Hill, James, of London 




514 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


7 Compound names^ personal and place. Consider the com¬ 
pound parts, with or without a hyphen, as separate words, and 


alphabet accordingly; e. g. 


Dubois, T.K. 

Du Bois-Ayme 
Dubois county 
Dubois de la Cour, pseud. 
Dubois-Fontanelle, J.G. 
Dubois-Melly, Charles 


New Amsterdam 
New Lots 
New Windsor 
New York 
N ewburgh 
Newcastle 


8 Compound words. The indexer is generally at liberty to decide 
•on a single form for entry of certain words which can not be sep¬ 
arated in thought without alteration of sense, but which are in 
common usage variously printed as one word, as two words, or 
with hyphen; e. g. material found under “waterworks,” “water¬ 
works,” or “water works” may be massed under either form. 
The present tendency is to prefer the solidified word. Title entries, 
however, should preserve the exact forms given in the texts indexed, 
but be alphabeted uniformly as separate words; e. g. 


Hand book almanac 
Handbook for hospitals 
Hand book for school trustees 


Hand-book for the piano-forte 

9 Umlaut. Disregard umlauts unless words are otherwise alike, 
when the word without an umlaut precedes that with it; e. g. 
Muller before Muller. 


10 Joint authors. Place joint author entries after all entries of 
single author; e. g. 


Howell, G.R. Settlement of Southold 

-& Tenney, Jonathan. Bicentennial History of Albany 

11 Titles under authors. Arrange authors by preceding rules 
and under each author alphabet titles of his works. 

12 Elisions in titles. Alphabet elisions as they are printed; e.g. 
What men live by 

What the wind did 

What’s mine’s mine (i.e. alphabet as “Whats mines” not as 
“What is mine is”) 

13 Possessives. Disregard apostrophe in alphabeting posses- 
sives; e. g. 


Boys’ and girls’ book 
Boy’s King Arthur 
Boys of ’76 

For questions of alphabetic arrangement of modifications under 
heading see p. 490-92: for arrangement of subheads and references 
see p. 492-93 ; 



INDEXING 


515 


EXAMPLES OF INDEXES 

The student of indexing will find it profitable to examine well 
made indexes of various types. Those instanced below as repre¬ 
senting good work as well as the examples chosen to illustrate 
various kinds of type, groupings, punctuation and devices in gen¬ 
eral use, are often inconsistent with each other and differ in details 
of treatment from the forms and principles recommended in the 
preceding pages, which are in accord with the rules and general 
practice of the New York State Library. The first group repre¬ 
sents rather full indexes of good type: 

Fiske, John. American Revolution. Houghton 
Bryce, James. American Commonwealth. Macmillan 
Earle, A.M. Child Life in Colonial Days. Macmillan 
Geikie, Sir Archibald. Textbook of Geology. Macmillan 
Lee, Sidney. Life of Shakespeare. Macmillan 
Merriam, F.A. Birds of Village and Field. Houghton 
Emerson’s Works. See Natural History of Intellect, v. 12 of Riverside ed 
Houghton 

Holmes, O.W. Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. Houghton 
Example of less close analysis, adequate for the type of book: 

Nordhoff, Charles. Politics for Young Americans. Am. Bk Co. 
Examples of humorous indexes: 

Lowell, J.R. The Bigelow Papers. Houghton 
Dodgson. Sylvie and Bruno. Macmillan 
Example of the indexing of voluminous and diverse material, 
requiring complicated forms of reference: 

Index to Publications of the New York Natural History Survey and New 
York State Museum, 1837-1902, compiled by Miss Mary Ellis. New 
York State Museum, Bulletin 66 

For elaborate indexing of historical sources in which great vari¬ 
ety of form is found: 

Index to Calendar of Council Minutes, 1668-1783. New York State 
Library, Bulletin 58 

A far more voluminous and complicated example is the two 
volume index to the 71 volumes of the Jesuit Relations, Burrows 
Bros. This work illustrates the application of an elaborate scheme 
of classification in an alphabetic index. 

Among subject indexes to files of periodicals may be cited: 
Index to Engineering News, 1890-99, compiled by M.E.Miller. Engineer¬ 
ing News Co. 

Analytical Index to the Educational Review, vol. 1-25, compiled by C.A. 

Nelson. Educational Review Pub. Co. 

The last work differs from the ordinary subject index in giving 
analyses of subject-matter under titles of articles^^indexed. j 


51o 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


EXAMPLES OF TYPE AND STYLE 

In estimating the following styles of printing consider clearness, 
compactness, simplicity. A style which wastes space or employs 
varieties of type expensive in combination is justified only by de¬ 
cided gain in ready reference. The judicious use of black face or 
other peculiar types is helpful in many cas6s, but too freely em¬ 
ployed they may produce a confused impression. 


From R. K. Shaw’s Bibliography of Domestic Economy. N. Y. State Lib. Bibliography Bui, 22 

The superior figures tell the exact place on the page in ninths, e. g. 41® means page 41, 
beginning in the third ninth of the page, i. e. about one third of the way down. 


Cooperative housekeeping, 64^ 
Copeland. Cuisine, 69® 

Copley Cottage comforts, 44® 

-Cottage cookery, 69® 

-Domestic economy, 54® 

-Housekeeper’s guide, 69® 

-Servant, 136^ 

Cordon bleu, pseud. Economical 
French cookery, 93^ 

-& Bacchus, pseud. Hotel, bar, 

restaurant, butler, 6H 
Cornelius. Cook-book, 70' 

Cornish & Floyer. Simple cookery, 73^ 
Corson. Cooking manual, 70^^ 

-Family living on $500, 4P 


From Cataloguers Reference Books. 

Publishers’ trade list annual, 252^ 

Publishers’ weekly, 250® 

Quakers, see Friends, Society of. 

Querard. La France litteraire, 316® 

-La litterature fran$aise contem- 

poraine, 316^ 

-Les supercheries litteraires de- 

voilees, 258® 

“Reference catalogue of current liter¬ 
ature, 336® 

Registers, see College men; Official 
-classes 


Crowffield, Christopher, pseud., see 
Stowe 

Cruger. How she did it, 41® 

Cudlip. Modern housewife, 45^ 

La cuisine creole, 90^ 

Cupples, Mrs George. Housework, 45® 
Curious old cookery receipts, 99® 
Curtiss. Berkshire News comic cook 
book, 88® 

Cust. Invalid’s own book, 114® 
Cyclopedias, 56^-58^ 97® 

Daisy basket, 103^ 

Dalgairns. Practice of cookery, 92® 
Daniell. Dedham receipts, 70® 


Y. State Lib. Bibliography Bui. 36 

Roorbach. Bibliotheca Americana 
250® 

Rose. Cyclopaedia of Canadian biog¬ 
raphy, 268® 

Rosse. Index of dates, 286® 

Rousselot & Vivien de Saint-Martin. 
Nouveau dictionnaire de geographie 
universelle, 322® 

Royal blue book, 334® 

Royal College of Physicians of London. 
Roll, 352® 

Royal navy list, 356® 

Royal Society of London. Catalogue 
of scientific papers, 378® 











INDEXING 


517 


From Colonial Records, General Entries, v. 1. N. Y. State Lib. History Bui. 2 


Tilton, Peter, marriage license, 167^-68^ 
Tobacco, duty on, 123^, 167^; smug¬ 
gling of, 169' ^ 

Tonneman, Pieter, mentioned, 140® 
Topping, Thomas, deputy to Hemp¬ 
stead, 156^; member of committee 
to examine bounds of towns on 
Long Island, 156® 

Treaty with Indians at Albany, 110®- 
12 ® 


Van Aken, (Van Akes), Jan Coster, 
delegate from Albany to confer with 
council at New York, 112® 

Van Bergh, John, pass for, 64® 

Van Bohemen, Pieter Bruynsen, men¬ 
tioned, 140® 

Van Brugh (Van Brough, Van Brugges, 
Brugges), Johannes, oath of office. 
146®; information given by as to 
ship Crost Heart, 158®; appointed 
alderman, 173® 


The note explaining the superior figures is of course given with 
all three of the indexes quoted above. 


From John Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. Little 


Nightingale’s high note 551. 
song in the grove, 428. 

Nightly pitch my moving tent, 497. 
to the listening earth, 300. 

Nil tarn difficilest, 203. 

Nile, allegory on the banks of the, 440. 
dam up the waters of the, 596. 
dogs drinking from the, 715, 719. 
outvenoms all the worms of, 160. 
show me the fountain of the, 602. 
where is my serpent of old, 157. 


Nobly born must nobly meet his fate, 698, 
die for their country, 102. 
planned, perfect woman, 475. 

Nobody at home, there’s, 336. 

I care for, 427. 

Nobody’s business, 207. 

Nod, affects to, 271. 

an esteemed person’s, 728. 
ready with every, to tumble, 97. 
shakes his curls and gives the, 337 


From Harbottle & Dalbiac’s Dictionary of Quotations: French and Italian. Sonnenschein 


Servitude and poverty, 327. 

Seven, Mark—times and cut once, 
417. 

Shade, The — not the colour, 163. 

Shadow is worse than death, 100. 

Shame, The crime brings—125, 

Sharper than another, 171. 

Sheath, To perish by the—193. 

Sheep, 14. 

“ Better give the wool than 
the — 294. 

“ Five legs to the — 259. 

“ Let us come back to our — 

200 . 

“ The — that stops to bleat, 
176. 

“ Who becomes a — the wolf 
eats, 269. 


Shepherd, 224, 408. 

Sorrow, 104, 144. 

“ after joy —8. 

“ is good for nought, 108. 

“ is where we live, 112. 

“ To know — 157. 

Sorrows, conceal your — 210. 

“ pass like foam, 195. 

“ The artificers of our own 

— 371. 

Soul, A secret drawer in the —.56. 
“ A — in dead things, 431. 

" Crime withers the — 56. 

" The noble—dissatisfied, 227. 
“ The recesses of the — 154. 

“ The — of Pedro Garcias, 55. 
“ The —’s health, 109. 

“ To confide one’s whole— \71. 


Note that the simpler form of 
more elaborate style. 


Bartlett is as clear as the second 






518 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


From Fiske’s Dutch and Quaker 

Hughson’s Tavern, ii. 290. 

Hugonet, the execution of, i. 27. 

Huguenots, their migration from 
France, i. 24; why they did not 
come to New France, 130, 230; 
causes of their failure in France, 
ii. 337, 338; their migration to 
New Netherland, 340; perse¬ 
cuted by Louis XIV., 341, 342; 
their exodus from France, 342, 
343; in Boston, 344; in New 
York, 345; names, 344, 345. 

Hull, Edward, i. 265. 

Hunter, Robert, ii. 242-245. 

Hutchings, an alderman, ii. 237, 
238. 

Hutchinson, Anne, i. 182; mur¬ 
dered by Indians, 186; her cap¬ 
tive granddaughter, 196, 275; 
ii. 102. 

Hutchinson, Thomas, ii. 197. 

Huyghens, Christian, i. 17. 

Hyde, Edward, see Cornbury, Vis¬ 
count. 


Colonies in America Houghton 

Pennsylvania, religious liberty in 
ii. 99; boundaries of, 148-150; 
origin of the name, 150; its 
charter contrasted with that of 
Maryland, 151, 152; why it was 
not molested by Indians in the 
early times, 164-166; rapid 
growth of, 166, 328; becomes a 
royal province, 217; restored to 
Penn, 305; revised charter of, 
309, 310; significance of its 
rapid growth, 328, 329; a centre 
of distribution for the non- 
English population, 330. 

Penobscot River, i. 66, 75-79. 

Pepys, Samuel, ii. 12. 

Pequots, i. 136, 148, 153, 155. 

Perry, Oliver, ii. 210. 

Persecution, causes of, ii. 100-104; 
harmfulness of, 105, 106. 

Philadelphia, founding of, ii. 156, 
157; its literary eminence, 320- 
323. 

Philip, chief of the Wampanoags 
ii. 58, 59. 


Prom E. B, Andrews’s History of the Last Quarter Century tn the United States. Scribner 


Kei-logg, W. P., nominated for Governor in 
Louisiana, I., 80; his prospects clouded 
for a time, 83; elected Governor without 
the returns, 84; declared de facto Gover¬ 
nor, 85; his abdication demanded, 155; 
recognized by the Administration, 157; 
his explanation of the uprising, 159; 
orders members of Legislature forcibly 
removed, 162; signs certificate of Hayes 
electors, 219. 

Kelly, “General,” in the “Commonwealer” 
movement, IT., 328. 

Kelly, John, II., 88. 

“Kelly the Bum,” I., 296. 


Missouri, State of, reenfranchisement of 
Southerners a burning question in 1., 
31; the James gang in, 381; Constitu¬ 
tional Convention in, II., 147. 

Missouri, The, carries supplies to Russian 
famine sufferers, IL, 222 et seq. 

Missouris, The, “Messiah craze” among, II., 
201; severalty land holdings by, 349. 

Mizner, Mr., unjust punishment of, in 
Barundia affair, II., 186. 

Mouocs, The, outbreak of, I., 175 et seq.: 
massacre the Peace Commissioners, 179 
et seq.; leaders of, captured and hung, 181 


From Horace Porter s Campaigning with Grant. Century 


Port Pmyal, Va., change of Grant’s base 
of supplies to, 125; the base transferred 
to White House from, 155 

Potomac, the river, military movements 
on, 236, 270 

Powell, Lewis, See Payne, Lewis. 

Press, evil effects in the North of a 
divided, 40, 41, 180; experiences of 
reporters in Grant’s camps, 47; Meade’s 
irritation at, 190, 191; disciplining a 
member of the, 191 

“Price,” the gunboat, Fred Grant’s ex¬ 
periences on, 363. 

Profanity, Grant’s abhorrence of, 164, 251; 
a mule-driver’s reliance, 251; an occa¬ 
sion for, 427 

Puppyism and dogmatism, 16 


Quarles’s Ford, Va,, militarj’^ movements 
at, 145 

Quarles’s Mills, Va., Grant’s headquarters 
at, 145 

Quinine, its value, 151 

Railroads, methods of destruction of, 146 

Rain, disheartening effect on an army, 121 

Raleigh, N. C., Grant goes to, 504 

Ramseur, Maj.-gen. Stephen D., mortally 
■wounded and taken prisoner at Cedar 
Creek, 307 

Ramson, Brig.-gen. Matthew W., in battle 
of Five Forks, 437 

Rapidan, the river, the crossing of, 37, 39, 
41 et seq.; the country of, 39-41, 44; 
temporary headquarters on 43-48 




INDEXING 


510 ' 


From E. H. Byington’s The Puritan in England and New England. Roberts (Little) 

Churches, Independent, 94 ; model of Scrooby, 158 ; Plymouth 
Church, 158 ; Salem, 159 ; officers of, 160 , 287 . 

Coffee not used, 139. 

Coffin, Rev. Ebenezer, of Brunswick, note on his life, 375 ; 

his religious views, 384 . 

Committee of Religion, 74 , 

Common Schools, reasons for, 248 ; Governor of Virginia dis¬ 
likes, 248 ; schools in Dutch Republic, 248 ; in Plymouth, 
249 ; Boston, general law, 250 ; schools in New Haven, 250 ; 
Hartford; influence of, 250 . 


From J. D. Champlin jr’s Young Folk’s History of the War for the Union. Holt 


Anderson, Robert, in Sumter 

in 1861.39,42,55, 62 

in Kentucky. 118 

in Sumter in 1865.. 502 

Andersonville. 488 

Anecdotes. See Stories. 

Annapolis. 66 

Antietam, Battle of.284, 287 

Anti-Federalists. 6 

Anti-Nebraska Men. 25 

Anti-Slavery Society. 18 

Appomattox Court-House.535, 539 
Arkansas, Secession of. 73 


Ball’s Bluff, Battle of. 131 

Banks, N. P., and the Anvil 

Chorus. 420 

at Cedar Mountain. 272 

at Mansfield. 422 

at New Orleans. 228 

at Port Hudson. 342 

in the Shenandoah Val¬ 
ley ...., . 244 

Succeeded by Canby.. . . 425 

at Winchester. 253^ 

Banner of Secession. 36 

Barnard, Gen.. at Yorktown.. . 246- 


From Charles Hemstreet’s Nooks and Corners of Old New York. Scribner 


Brouwer Street. 15 

Bryant Park.114, 


107, iq8, 199 
Bull’s Head Tavern.49, 190 
Bull’s Head Village 

190, 191 

Bunker Hill. 144 

Burdell Murder, The 

149, ISO 

Burr, Aaron, home of. 18,104 

Office of. 40 

Last Friend of... 67 

Burton’s Theatre. 39 

Cafe des Mille Colonnes 

39. S6 


Canal Street. .41, 42, 94, 05 
Chatham Square... .45 , 46 

Chatham .Street. 47 

Chelsea Cottages. 129 

Chelsea Village.126, 

127, 128, 129 

Cherry Hill.51, 52 

Cherry Street. .. 51 

Church, All Saints’. ... 136 
“ Allen Street Mem¬ 
orial. 142 

“ Bedford Street 

Memorial. 106 

“ Bowery Village.... 162 
“ Brick Presbyterian 

31 19& 

































o20 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


Prom N. S. Shaler’s Nature and Man in America. Scribner 

Alps, condition of life in.25 

American continents, contributions of domesticated animals and 

plants from. ,...175 

population, changes in. .... 264 

evidence from Civil War. 268, 273 

longevity, etc.266 

physical condition .271 

Appalachian Mountains, effect on Civil War.210 

colonies. .195 

distribution of slavery.209 

protection they afforded against Indians . . 205 

Aryans, origin of.163 

Atlantic coast shelf ... 77 


See note on use of leaders, p. 510 


From Index to Jesuit Relations ed. by R. G. Thwaites. Burrows Bros. 

'Cards, used as money, 69, 233. See also Canada: card money; and 
Money. 

Carette, Louis (Francois), Jesuit, 71, 129; arrives in Louisiana 
(1750), 178, 72, 19; abandons Arkansas mission, 70, 241, 243; 
at San Domingo, 267; sketch, 89, 71, 126-127, 178. 

Carey, Matthew: General Atlas, 71, 362. 

Carhagouha (Carantouan), Indian site: location, 34, 254; Recollets 
at, 4, 259, 262, 265. See also Arontaen, and Carantouan. 

Carheil (Careil, Carrheil), Etienne de, Jesuit, 51, 145, 149, 52, 
181-183, 193, 56, 49-55, 57,308,61,181, 231,62,105,71,129; 
arrives in Canada (1666), 50, 195, 325; gives feast, 197; takes 
name of Aonde’chete, 197; goes to Iroquois mission (1668), 
325; Iroquois give feast to, 52, 175; drunkard attacks, 62, 
225-227; abandons Iroquois missions (1683), 50, 325; at 

Quebec college (1683), 325; goes to Mackinac (1686), 325; 
Cadillac opposes, 325, 65, 247-249; fur traders oppose. 50, 325 
returns to Quebec (1703), 326; ministers to French (1703-18) 
326; death (1726), 326; biography, 325-326, 71, 150, 240. 


From James Bryce’s American Commonwealth. Macmillan 


Hume (David), “Essays,” referred to, 
i. 24; ii. 19 

Hyde Park (London), meetings in, ii. 227 

Idaho, Territory of, i. 125, 441, 461, 585 
Illinois, State of, i. 481, 601, 607 
Immigrants in America, i. 24; ii. 34, 299, 
858; pounced upon by voting agents, 
99; influence of public opinion upon 
them,^ 367; their influence upon the 
national character, 861; restrictions 
upon immigration, 863 
Impeachment of executive officers, i; 50, 
91, 211, 500; of judges, 110, 230, 558 
Indian affairs, i. 89, 269, 578; ii. 371 


Indian Territory (west of Arkansas), i. 97 
578; ii. 180 

Indiana, State of, i. 414 

Individualism, spirit of. in America, ii. 539 

Individuals and Assemblies, combats be¬ 
tween, i. 226 

Influence of religion, the, in America, ii 
714-727 

Intellectual eminence, position accorded 
to, ii. 751 

Intellectual productivity, conditions of 
ii. 769 sqq.\ how far existing in America 
770; recent developments of American 
thought, 777; promise for the future 
789, 869 














INDEXING 


521 


From A. M. Earle’s Child Life in Colonial Days. Macmillan 


Abcie. See Absey-book. 

Abiel, the name, 15. 

Abigail, the name, 16. 

Absey-book, 127, 2 2g. 

Accidence, Young Lady’s, g6, 135; 

Cheever’s 134. 

Acorn cups, playthings of, 386. 
Adams, Abigail' quoted, 93-94; pat¬ 
riotism of, 171. 

Adams, John Quincy, birth of, 40; 
letters of, 147, 169-170; patriotic 

education of, 170 et seq. 


Appleseed rhyme, 381. 

Appleton, Samuel, as teacher, 98. 
Arithmetic, manuscript, 79, 138, 139; 
study of, 138; verses in, 141, 142; 
printed, 140 et seq.; rules on birch 
bark, 79. 

Arsemetrick, 140. 

Arte of Vulgar Arithmetike , 142. 
Ascham, Roger, 91; habits of, 352. 
Ashes, saved by school children, 77. 
Astrology, 5-6. 

Augrime, 140. 


From Sidney Lee’s Life of William Shakespeare, Macmillan 


LAWRENCE 

Lawrence, Henry, his seal beneath 
Shakespeare’s autograph, 267 
Lear, King: date of composition, 241; 
produced at Whitehall, 241; But¬ 
ter’s imperfect editions, 241; mainly 
founded on Holinshed’s ‘Chronicle,’ 
241, and Sidney’s ‘Arcadia,’ 241; 
the character of the King, 241. 
For editions see Section xix. (Bib¬ 
liography) 301-25 

Legal terminology in plays and poems 
of the Shakespearean period, 32 n 2, 
and Appendix, IX.; cf. 107 
Legge, Dr. Thomas, a Latin piece on 
Richard III by, 63 
Leicester, Earl of, entertains Queen 
Elizabeth at Kenilworth, 17, 162; 
. in the Low Countries, 30; his com¬ 
pany of players, 33, 35 


Note that in this index the fi 
are given at heads of columns, 


MACBETH 

Luddington, 20 • ^ 

Lydgate, ‘Troy Book’ of, 227 
Lyly, John, 61; influence on Shake¬ 
speare’s comedies, 61, 62, his ad- 
dres.ses to Cupid, 97 m; and Mid¬ 
summer Night's Dream, 162 
Lyrif's in Shakespeare’s plays, 207, 

250, 25s and n 2 

‘M., I.,’ 306. See a/50 ‘S., I. M.’ 

Macbeth: the references to the climate 
of Inverness, 41 (and quotation in 
n 3), 42; date of composition, 239; 
the story dr.awn from Holinshed, 

239; not primed until 1623, 239; 
the shortest of the poet's plays, 239; 
points of difference from other plays 
of the same class, 240; Middleton's 
plagiarisms of, 240. For editions 
see Section xix. (Bibliography), 

301-25 

t and last headings on each page 
) aid in rapid scanning. 


From R. W. Emerson’s Collected Works. General index, Houghton 


Note. Titles of essays and 

Bradshaw, John, iii. 107 ; x. 411 . 

Brag, V. 143 - 146 ; x. 170 . 

Brahma, ix. 170 f. 

Brains, differences of, x. 47 ; male 
and female, iv. 105 . 

Bramante, xii. 133 , 139 . 

Brandy, revenue from, vii. 34 . 

Brant. Joseph, ii. 155 . 

Brasidas, ii. 234 ; vii. 79 . 

Bravery, xi. 200 , See, also, Cour- 
age. 

Bread, not the aim, i. 276 ; ii. 211 ; 
xi. 331 ; heavenly, v. 243 ; viii. 
64 ; history of, iii. 60 ; transub- 
stantiation of, vi. 123 ; viii. 38 . 


poems are in small capitals. 

Gravity, centre of, ii. 216 ; vii. 31 , 
282 ; X. 189 . 

Gray, Thomas, quoted, viii. 58 , 
272 . 

Great Men, Uses of, iv, 7 - 38 . 

-helped by adversity, ii. 113 ; 

vi. 222 ; viii 219 ; of great affini¬ 
ties, ’V. 43 ; age mischo ’ses, ii. 
* 204 ; iv. 193 ; no boasters, vi. 11 ; 
indifferent to circumstances, vii. 
115 ; composite, iv. 96 ; not con- 
vulsible, ii. 299 ; mutual defer¬ 
ence, X. 67 ; clear our minds of 
egotism, iv. 29 ; enrich us, viii. 
215 ; equality in all ages, ii. 84 . 






522 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


From Geikie’s Textbook of Geology. Macmillan 
An asterisk attached to a number denotes that a figure of a subject will be found on the 
page indicated. Genera and species of fossils are printed in italics. A single reference 
only is given to each main division of the Geological Record in which afgenusiis men¬ 
tioned. 


‘Aa” form of lava-streams, 217 
Aachenian, 850 
Aar glacier, erosion by, 432 

-former size of, 1048 

Abies, 991 

Absorption-spectrum, 11, 12 
“Abtheilung” in stratigraphy, 678 
Abysmal deposits, 457, 648, 650 
Abyssinia, volcanic plateau of, 258 
Acacia, 995 
Acanthoceras, 927* 

Acanthocladia, 844 
Acanthodes, 795*, 796, 830, 845 
Acanthopholis, 931 
Acanthospongia, 748 
Acer, 922, 988, 995 
Aceratherium, 1018 
Acerocare, 731 
Acervularia 742, 757*, 780 


Achatina, 986 
Acheulian deposits, 1057 
Achyrodon, 894 
Acicularia, 976 

Acid, uses of, in rock determination, 87 

-acetic, 87 

-apocrenic, 471 

-citric, 87; use of, in field-work, 81 

-crenic, 471 

-humic, 471 

- hydrochloric, 81 

-hydrofluoric, 87 

-hydrofluosilicic, 88 

-nitric, 88 

-organic, action of, 146, 343, 458, 471 

-ulmic, 471 

Acid series of massive works, 156; gradation 
of, into basic, 105, 225, 262, 269, 564, 576 
Acidaspis, 741*, 743, 781 


From Maria Parloa’s Home Economics, Century 


Bedrooms, best kind of light for, 41 
best floor for, 41 
how to furnish, 41 
method of ventilating in cold 
weather, 56 

Beds, desirability of single, 41 
how to make, 44 

how they can be made absolutely 
comfortable, 42 
importance of well-made, 44 
kind of mattresses for, 42 
kind and size of coverings, 43 
length of, 43 
length of sheets, 43 
Bed-springs, 45 
Beef. See Marketing, 

Beets, 257 
Benzene, 293 


Cars, of cellar, 90 
of dining-room, 90 
of dishes, 163 
of fats, 232 

of floors in kitchen and pantry, 80 
of furnace fires, 136 
of kitchen and pantries, 79 
of kitchen utensils, 82 
of lamps, 127 
of lighting appliances, 126 
of natural-wood finishes, 73 
of outside doors, 73 
of plumbing, 93 
of range, 140 
of refrigerator, 88 
of the tea-kettle, 87 
of window sashes, 74 
Carpet-cleaning, 64 














INDEXING 


523 


READING LIST ON INDEXING 

State Library call numbers are given. 

Bailey, Nancy. Indexing; a Profession for Women, {^see London, Victorian 
era exhibition, 1897. Progress in Women’s Education in the British Em¬ 
pire. 1898. p. 196-203) 376 L84 

Clarke, A. L. Manual of practical Indexing. Lond. 1904. Library Supply 
Co. 5/n 

Dewey, Melvil. Exact Reference to Printed or Manuscript Pages, {^see Book¬ 
man, Ap. 1897, 5:174-75) 051 qB64i 

Explains method of citing divisions of page by ninths. 

Hetherington, E. The Indexing of Periodicals, {^see Index to the Periodical 
Literature of the World, 1892, 3:3-7) R050 qAn3 

Nichols, J. E. Indexing; manual for librarians, authors and publishers. 
i4p.O. N.Y. 1892. Publishers’ Weekly o.p. 029.5 N51 

First published in Library Journal, Oct. 1892, 17:4o6. 

Perkins, F: B. Book Indexes, {see U. S. — Education, Bureau of. Public 
Libraries in the U. S. . . their History, Condition and Management. 
Special Report. 1876. pt i, p. 727-32) 207.073 Un3 

Petherbridge, Mary. The Technique of Indexing. Lond. 1904. Secretarial 
Bureau 5/n 029.5 P44 

Robinson, O. H. On Indexing Periodical and Miscellaneous Literature. 
{see U. S.—Education, Bureau of. Public Libraries in the U. S. . . their 
History, Condition and Management. Special Report. 1876. pt i, 
p. 663-72) 027.073 Un3 

Shepardson, G: D. Suggestions for an Index of Engineering Literature; with 
discussion, {see American Institute of Electrical Engineers, Transactions, 
Nov. 1894, 11:777-83, 835-59) 621.3 O4 

Thomson, W. S. Practical Guide to Indexing and Precis Writing. 289P. D. 
Aberdeen 1891. John Adam i/6d 029.4 T36 

Interesting and suggestive in connection with book-indexing, though not directly concerned 
with it. 

Thring, Sir Kcnryr Instructions for an Index to the Statute Law. {see Law 
Magazine, Aug. 1877, ser. 4, 2:491) Law library 

Wheatley, K: B. What is an Index? 132P.O. Lond. 1879. Index Society. 
o. p. 029.5 W56 

Contains rules of Index Society and much useful and entertaining matter. 

How to Make an Index. (Booklovers’Lib.) Armstrong $1.25 029.5 W561 

Embodies most of the matter in his What is an Indexf with additions. 

Library Journal; m..onthly . . . journal of the American Library Association 
Sep. 1876-date. V. i-date, 1-5 sq.Q; v.6-date, sq.O. N.Y. 1877-date. 
Publishers’ Weekly $5. 020.5 qL6i 

Contains much matter of value on indexing and indexes. The following articles are of 
special interest: 

Improvement of Poole’s Index; by W. S. Biscoe, Ap. 1877, 1:279-81 

Indexes to Periodicals, June 1877, 1:359-63 

Plan of the New Poole’s Index; a Library Symposium, June 1878, 3 :i4i-5i 

The Index Symposium and its Morals; by W. P, Poole, July 1878, 3 :i78-85 

Some Points in Indexing, by W: I: Fletcher, July-Aug. 1879, 4:243-47 

Notes on Geographical Indexing, Oct. 1894, 19:330-31 

"Acid to Casks”: a few remarks on indexing; by W. S. Burns, Sep. 1903, 28:664-65 
! Some Rules to be observed in Making Indexes, Sep. 1903, 28:665 


I 




* 






1 


r 


• ^ '• . .... 1 . • • ; i'v',; , i 

■ ' ■ - ' INDEX . /■ ' 

The superior figures, tell the exact place on the page in ninths; e. g. 490 
means page 490 beginning in the third ninth ofi.the page, i. e, about one 
third of the way down. , 


Abbreviations,, use of, ;497®-98^; to 
distinguish departments in peri¬ 
odicals, 501® - ' 

Accuracy, ; importa,nce, 500®. See 
also Verification 
Added entry, see Double entry 
Adjective, as heading, 471®; separ-' 
ated from noun, 473^, S03® 
Allusions and unimportant state¬ 
ments, 477®, 47^‘ 

Alphabet, relative space for letters, 
483«-84^ 489’ ■' 

Alphabetic marginal tags, 483^ 
Alphabetic order of modifications, 
490®; advantages, 491® 

Alphabetic'vs classified indexes, 467® 
Alphabeting, of slips, 484®, 489^; bn 
final proof, 560®; 

rules for: 512^-14®; compound 
names, 514^; compound wojds,. 
514®; elisions in titles, 514^; by 
heading primarily, 512®; identical 
i first words, 513^; forenames identi¬ 
cal with surnames, 513®; surnames 
identical, 513®; whole names iden¬ 
tical, 513®; joint authors, 514®; pos- 
sessives, 514®;. by significant word, 
490®; surnames with prefixes, 513®; 
titles under authors, 514®; umlaut, 
514®; word by word, 512®. See 
also Arrangement 
Alternative titles,- omit, 511® 
Analysis under heading, 479^ 
Anonymous writings, 507® 
Apostrophe, disregard in alpha^et- 
ing, 514® 

Arrangement, of cross references, 

493'-; . • 

of modifications: 490^-93®; al¬ 
phabetic order, 49a®, 491®; order 


of entry, 490^-91®, 492^; combina¬ 
tion of alphabetic and order of 
entry, 491®; logical order, 491®;.. ^ 
relative advantages of different 
. methods!,; 491 ®-9 2 ®. 

See also Alphabeting 
Art galleries-, entry under, 508® 
Article, never index under, 471®; 
omission , from title, . 508®; trans¬ 
position, 511® 

Author, as indexer, 466®; of quoted 
statements, 473® 

Author and title, rules for, 509®-!i® 
Author entry, in periodical indexes, 

' 503®, 504^ for poetry, 5o4®-5b 
See also Alphabeting; Biography;. 
Headings; Names 

Authors, joint, 505®; dash for re¬ 
peated name, 510®; alphabeting, 

514® 

Bays, names, 507® ' 

Bibliography, 523^ 

Biography, anonymous, 507®;' ar¬ 
rangement of modifications, 490®- 
91®; biographee’s works, 509®; 
curves 'for authors’ names, 510®; 
entry under subject as well as 
author, 507^; titles, 511® 

Blank book index, 483^ 

Blanket entry, 479®, 479^ 

Body as author, 507^, 510® 

Book lists, 509®-!I® 

Book reviews, indexing, 5oi®-2® 

Cancelations in editing, 495® 

Capes, narnes, 507® 

Cards, see Slips 

Catalogue rules, codes of, 466®-67®; 
not always applicable to indexes,. 

505" . --v--. 




526 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


■Chronologic arrangement under bio¬ 
graphic and historical headings, 
490^-91*; advantages, 492^ 
Churches, entry of, 508^ 

City, entry under, 507b 508^ , ^ 

Clarke, A. L., on choice of headings, 
470^ 

Class and specific headings, choice 
between, 471®; cross references be¬ 
tween, 480®, 494®-95'‘ 

Classed lists of books, indexing, 509®- 

II® 

Classified indexes, 467*; to periodicals, 
5 oo®-i® 

Cockatoo story, absurd entries, 474^ 
Committees, 508’ 

Common terms, give preference to, 
471® 

Compound names, 5o6^;_ alphabet- 

ing, 514' 

Compound words, alphabeting, 514® 
Conciseness, 476^-77b 486* 
Consistency, importance, 466b 486b 
not chief aim, 486^, 492^ 
Convention, entry under, 507^, 508® 
Copying rules, 497^-98® 

Country, entry under, 507^. See 
also Place names 
Criticism, author’s works in, 509® 
Cross references, 480^-81*; between 
allied headings, 480®, 494®, 494®; 
arrangement, 493^; from, changed 
name, So 5 ®- 62 ; between class and 
specific headings, 480®; for com¬ 
pound names, 506^; copying rules, 
497®, 498®; definition, 468®; vs 
double entry, 479b 481®: editing 
important, 481b changes in edit¬ 
ing, 494®, 494b in entry h line in¬ 
dex, 496®, 498®; examples, 468*, 
474®, 480®; to forename, 506b 

general, 495®; government depart¬ 
ments, 507®; to heading only, 481®; 
on marked proof, 485®, 486’; 

misleading, 480^-81®; from dif¬ 
ferent forms of names, 480®, 505®; 
from names v/ith preposition, 506^; 
for noblemen, 506®; between officer 
and department, 507®; in para¬ 
graphed index, 496b 497b from 


name of place, 507^-8®; from, pos¬ 
sible to chosen heading, 480®; 
principles, 48o®-8i®; from pseu¬ 
donyms, 480®, 505*; connecting 

subject and subdivisions, 480"*; 
from synonymous headings, 474®, 
480®, 486®, 493®, 494®, 494b type, 
497*: verifying on final proof, 
500® 

Curves, for explanatory matter, 509b 
510®; for authors’ names, 510® 

Cutter, C. A., Rules for a Dictionary 
Catalogue, 466®, 505® 

Cyclopedias, misleading cross refer¬ 
ences, 481® 

Dash, for repetition of heading, 
510b for joint authors, 510®; ex¬ 
amples of use, 516, 522 
I Dates, form of citation, 483®; in 
I italics, 497® 

I Definition, of index, 467®; of terms, 
468® 

Descriptive phrase often poor alpha¬ 
betic key, 471® I 

i Dewey, Melvil, Library School Rules, 
466* 

Double entry or cross reference, 
479b 481® 

I , ^ 

Ecclesiastical dignitaries, 506® 

Editing, 493 *- 95 b cooperative work, 
493®-94®; cross references, 481®; 
pasted copy, 500®; points to be 
corrected in, 494®; final prepara¬ 
tion for printer, 499^-500^ 

Elisions in titles, 514® 

Emerson, R. W., illustrations from, 
470®, 471® 

Entries, number, to subject, 473®- 
74® 

Entry, term defined, 468®; should 
not be digest, 477®, 478®. 5^^ also 

Headings; Modifications 

Entry a line index, rules for copying, 
4^7®, 498*; arrangement of cross 
I references, 493b definition and 
j example, 496b headings identical 

! in form, 499®; modifications in, 

j 479 ®- 8 ob combined with para- 

I graphed index, 496“-97® 






INDEXING 


527 


Explanatory matter, curves for* 
509^ 510^. See also Notes, ex¬ 
planatory 
Expositions, 508® 

Figures, inclusive, rules for copying, 
4978 

Fletcher, W. I., definition of index, 
467^; on choice of headings, 470® 
Foreign names, 506^-7^ 

Forename, as index word, 506’; 

separated from surname, 473^ 
Forts, names, 507^ 

Fulness of index, 466®, 468®-69®, 

474h See also Headings; Modi¬ 
fications 

Geographic books, indexing, 472® 
Geographic names, 507^ 

Government publications, 507'* 
Gulfs, names, 507^ 

Hanging indention, 495® 

Heading, term defined, 468® 
Heading, secondary, see Subheads 
Headings, adjectives as, 471®; allied, 
cross reference between, 480®, 494®, 
494®; allied, comparison in editing, 
494®, 494^; cross reference vs 

scattered material, 474®, 493®: 

decide on and follow uniformly, 
486^; rules for form of, 505^-11®; 
homonyms, 499®; inversion of, 473^, 
507®; inversions under, 477^; linked 
subjects, 472®; modification iden¬ 
tical with, 479^; number to sub¬ 
ject, 473®-74®; punctuation, 473®: 
synonymous, cross references 
from, 474®, 480®, 486h 493®, 494®, 
494^; vague subjects require more 
entries, 473®; 

choice of: 470^-74®; avoid unim¬ 
portant words, 471®: brevity, 
473®, 486®; prefer common terms, 
471®; too comprehensive, 474^; ill 
chosen, 466®, 47 I^ 474 ®, 5 o 3 ^: 

rarely choose main subject of 
book, 472^; choose obvious 
word, 470®; keep perspective in 
mind, 472", 473®, 487®; choose sig¬ 
nificant word in phrase, 473 


specific vs class, 471®, 480®, 494®- 
95N 

repetition: in modification, 478®; 
for words identical in spelling, 499®; 
for persons of same surname, 499®; 
if entries overrun column, 500®. 
See also Alphabeting; Author en¬ 
try; Editing; Names 
Historical headings, arrangement of 
modifications under, 490^-91® 
Homonyms, 499® 

Humor in indexer, 478^ 

Hyphened words, alphabeting, 5i4^J 

Ideas, indexes of, 469®, 470^-71® 
Indention, hanging, 495®; in entry a 
line index, example, 496®; in para¬ 
graphed index manuscript, 498^; 
in printed|paragraphed index, ex¬ 
ample, 496^; directions to printer, 
499 ® 

Index defined, 467® 

Index sense, 465^ 

Index Society, rules, 523® 

Indexer, qualifications, 465®, 500®; 
importance of training, 465®-66®; 
must first acquire idea of scope, 
469®; must take searcher’s point of 
view, 470^; tact and humor in, 478^ 
Indexes, examples, 475®, 515^-22®; 
clerical methods of constructing, 
483'‘-84®; importance of good work, 
465^; various types of index, 469® 
Institution, entry under, 507^, 507® 
Inversion, in entry a line index, 479®- 
8o‘; government departments, 
507®; of heading, 473®; under head¬ 
ing, 477^; of modifications, 490^; of 
names, 473®; of names after titles, 
477^,f5io^; to bring subject word 
first, 473®, 5 o 2®-3^; in title entry, 
502®, 511® 

Italics, for dates, 497®; for “ see ” and 
“ See also, ” 497®; for book titles in 
general index, 509®; not used for 
titles in book lists, 510® 

Joint authors, 505®; alphabeting, 
514®; dash for repeated name, 510® 
Judges, opinions of, 507® 




528 NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


Key words, see Headings 

Lakes, names, 507^ 

Language of text often disregarded, 
47o^ 486® 

Leaders, use of, 510®; examples, 519, 
520 

Letters, space between, 498^; tags 
on blank book margins, 483^. See 
also Alphabet 
Libraries, entry under, 508^ 

Line index, see Entry a line index 
Literature of indexing, 523^ 

Marker, 482^ 

Marking proof, 484^-87®; advantages, 
484^-85^; methods, 485^; sample, 
486b end of subject noted, 489^ 
Markland, J. H., on importance of 
modifications, 475® 

Married women, name references, 
505®—6^ 

Mechanical methods, blank book 
plan, 483^; entries on sheets, 484^; 
separate slips, 484’^ 

Modifications, 475^-80^ allusions and 
unimportant statements, 477®, 478b 
analysis under heading, 479^; clear 
but concise, 476^-77\ 486®; care in 
condensing, 476®, 478^; need not 
be digest, 477®, 478^; in entry a 
line index, 479®-8o^; too general, 
476®, 478^; heading identical with, 
479b inversion, 477', 479®-8ob 
490^; index entry a pointer, 478^; 
repetition of heading in, 478®; 
for scattered references, 479^, 479®, 
481®; must be specific, 478®; term 
defined, 468^; need not be used 
uniformly, 476^; value, 475^-76^. 
See also Arrangement of modifica¬ 
tions 

Mountains, names, 507^ 

Name index, 469® 

Names, alphabeting, 513b as book 
titles, 511b changed, 5 o 5 ®- 6 ^; com¬ 
pound, 506^; alphabeting com¬ 
pound, 514b curves for, 51b®; 
ecclesiastical dignitaries, 506®; for¬ 
eign, 5 o 6®-7'; forename as index 
word, 506b full or shortened, 509®; 


geographic, 5°? , inversion, 473b 
inversions after titles, 477®, 510®; 
noblemen, 506®; person vs officer, 
507^; with prefixes, 513®; wdth prep¬ 
ositions, 506®; real name or pseu¬ 
donym, 505®; same surname for 
different persons, 499®; text form 
often best, 505®, 509^- a/50 

Author entry; Biography; Cross 
references 

Nichols, J. B., on value of good in¬ 
dexes, 465®; statements and illus¬ 
trations from, 467b definition of 
index, 467®; suggestion on indexes 
to sets, 467®; on indexing methods, 
485®-86® 

Ninths, exact reference by, 48i®-82^, 

523^ 

Noblemen, 506® 

Notes, on slips, 479®, 495 ®', 

explanatory: abbreviations, 

I 498®; examples, 516®, 521®, 522b 
j superior figures, 482^; symbols, 501® 

I Novels, indexing titles, 511^ 

Official publications, entry of, 5o7*; 
dash for repetition of heading, 
510® 

Omnibus entry, 479b 479 ^ 

Orientals, names, 506® 

Page references, 48i®-83®; beginning 
of citation, 482®; exact reference 
by ninths, 48i®-82^; inclusive or 
■ scattering, 481®, 488®; inclusive 

' for matter overrunning page, 481®, 

497®; marker, 482^; citation of 
volumes, 482^-83® 

Paragraphed index, defined with 
example, 495®-96®; rules for copy¬ 
ing, 497®, 498®; arrangement of 
! cross references, 493^; combined 

' with entry a line index, 496®-97® 

Pasted copy, 499b preparation for 
printer, 500® 

Period, omit at end of paragraph, 

497^ 

Periodicals, indexing, 5 oo®- 5 b au¬ 
thor entry, 503®, 5o4'^-5®; book 
reviews, 5oi®-2®; classified indexes, 

I 500®-!®; cooperative work, 493®- 

I 94®; curves for authors’ names in 



INDEXING 


529 


title entry, 510®; entries for poetry, 
5 oi®-2^, 5o 4®-5‘; series on one sub¬ 
ject, 504^; striking titles, 5o3®-4^; 
subject entry most important, 
503^; symbols to mark class, 501^; 
title indexes, 502^-3®, 510^; titles 
of, treatment, 508® 

Perkins, F. B., cited, 484® 

Persons, see Author entry; Biogra¬ 
phy; Names 

Perspective, consider in determin¬ 
ing plan, 472^; in determining 
number of headings, 473®; in 
choosing headings, 487^ 

Petitions, 508® 

Phrases as headings, 471®, 473^ 
Place names, entry under, 506^-7^ 
507^, 508^; references from, 507®- 
8®, 508®; alphabeting, 513*; alpha- 
beting compound names, 514' 
Plan of index, must be influenced 
by use, 466®; importance, 466^; 
keep perspective in mind, 472® 
Plurals, treatment, 512^ 

Poetry, indexing, 501^-2’, 504^-5*; 
author entry for, 502'^, 504®; sub¬ 
ject entries rarely necessary, 504® 
Political parties, entry under, 507® 
Popes, names, 506'^ 

Possessives, alphabeting, 514® 
Prefixes, surnames with, 513® 
Prepositions, surnames with, 506® 
Presidents, messages, 507®; personal 
writings, 507® 

Princes, names, 506^ 

Printer, preparation of copy for, 
497®-5 oo^; directions to, 499^ 
Printing, forms of, 495^-97®; ex¬ 
amples, 516-22 

Proof, marking, 484®-87®; methods, 
485®-86®; indicate end of subject, 
489®; value for reports or tabular 
matter, 485^; value as work pro¬ 
ceeds, 484® 

Proof reading, 500® 

Pseudonyms, entry under if better 
known, 505®; references from, 
480®, 505" 

Punctuation, of headings, 473®; of 
cross references, 497®; for para¬ 


graphed index, 497®, 498®; omit 
periods, 497® 

Qualifications of indexer, 465®, 478®, 
500® 

Quoted statements, 473® 

Readers, indexer must consider, 466®, 
47o‘ 

Reading list on indexing, 523^ 
References, see Cross references; 
Page references; Scattered refer¬ 
ences 

Reports, preservation of marked 
proof for, 485C preservation of 
slips for, 499® 

Revision, see Editing; Verification 
Rules, must vary according to book, 
466®. See also Catalogue rules; 
Reading list on indexing; also 
special subjects 

Saints, names, 506® 

Scattered references, 479®, 479®, 481® 
Schools, entry under, 508® 

Scientific books, plan, 472® 

Scientific terms, use of, 470®, 470® 
Searchers, indexer must consider, 
466®, 47 o‘ 

‘ ‘See” and ‘ ‘See also” references, see 
Cross references 
Series, citation, 483® 

Series of articles on one subject, 504^ 
Sets, index should cover, 467® 
Sheets, numbered, 498® 

Ships, 5 o8®-9® 

Significant word, arrangement by, 
490® 

Size, see Fulness 

Slips, alphabeting, 489^*; best mechan¬ 
ical device, 484®; notes on, 479®, 
495®; pasting, 499C preservation 
for consolidated indexes, 499®; 
quality, 487®; rules and sample 
entries, 488®; size, 487^-88'; trays 
for, 487®, 489®; verifying, 489^ 
Societies, entry, 5 o 7 ^; local, 508®; 
national and nonlocal, 507®; pub¬ 
lications, 508®; dash for repeated 
heading, 510® 

Sovereigns, names, 506® 




JUN 17 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY 


530 


Specific and class headings, choice 
between, 471®; cross references be¬ 
tween, 480®, 494®-95^; editing, 

494 ®- 95 '‘ 

Specific modifications, 478® 

Striking titles, 503^-4®, 507^, 511® 
Subheads, arrangement, 493^; rules 
for copying, 498'*; editing, 495'*; 
in entry a line index, example, 
496®; indicate indention, 487®, 
499®; need foreseen in marking 
proof, 487^; in paragraphed index, 
examples, 492^, 496^; term defined, 
468®; use of, 492^-93® 

Subject, term defined, 468^; vague, 
requires more entries, 473®; should 
not be scattered under several 
headings, 474®, 493®; new, how to 
treat, 486®. See also Headings 
Subject and word index combined, 

498® 

Subject entry vs title entry, 5o2®-3® 
Subjects, index of, 469® 

Superior figures, 48i®-82® 

Surnames, see Names 
Symbols to mark class, 501'^ 
Synonymous headings, cross refer¬ 
ence from, 474®, 480®, 486b 493®; 
comparison in editing, 494®, 494’ 

Tact in indexer, 478® 

Technical terms, use of, 470®, 470® 
Terms, definitions, 468^ 

Text words, not always best key, 
470®, 486® 

Title entry, 5o2®-3®, 5io®-ii®; alpha- 
beting, 513^514®; alternative titles, 
511®; for anonymous writings, 
507®; biography, 511®; elisions in, 
514®; inversions, 477®, 502®, 503®, 
511®; first word, Sii^; omit un¬ 


necessary words, 511^; shorten 
lengthy titles, 511®; striking titles, 
5o3®-4®, 507®, 511®; subject entry 
more important, 503® 

Titles, need not be followed, 486®; 
in text as modifications, 509®; 
under authors, arrangement, 514®. 
See also Title Entry. 

! Titles of honor follow surname, 473® 
j Titles of noblemen, 506® 

; Training, importance, 465®-66® 
j Transposition, see Inversion 
j Trays for slips, 487®; for alphabet- 
I ing, 489® 

I Type, for book titles, 509®; for dates, 

I 497®; directions to printer. 499®; 
j for “ see ” and “see also,’’ 497®; for 
j title entry, 510®; examples of, 
j 516—22 

Umlaut, 514® 

I Uniformity, see Consistency 
I Universities, entry under, 507® 
j Use of index must influence plan, 

I 466®, 470I 

j Useless entries, 466^, 471®, 474^ 477® 

i Verification, of slips, 489-; printer’s 
I copy, 499^; proof, 500®; cross 
I references, 500® 

I Vessels, 5o8®-9® 

{ Volumes, citation of, 482®-83®; sepa- 
I parately indexed, 467® 

i Wheatley, H. B., against classified 
indexes, 467®; on importance of 
j modifications, 475^; on useless 

I entries, 477®; cited, 483® 

Word and phrase index, 469® 

; Word and subject index combined, 

: 498® 

I Writing slips, 487®-88® 



3 i ^‘'0 

. .■> 


(RJe B6 





NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY BIBLIOGRAPHIES 

Mostly original bibliographies presented by Library School students as 
a condition of graduation. 

Volume I cloth $1.50, lacking no. 5; unbound $1.25, lacking no. 5, 15-17 
Bb I Guide to the Study of J. A. M.Whistler. i6p. May 1895. 25c. 
Bb 2-4 Colonial New England; Travel in North America; History 
of the 17th Century. Sop. July 1897. ■^ 5 ^* 

Bb 6-8 Japan; Venice; Out-of-door Books. 64P. Feb. 1898. loc. 
Bb 9-11 Netherlands; Renaissance Art; History of Latter Half of 
15th Century. i28p. Ap. 1898. 15c. 

Bb 12 Best Books of 1897. 28p. June 1898. [25c] 

Bb 13 Fairy Tales for Children. 3op. June 1898. [25c] 

Bb 14 Index to Subject Bibliographies in Library Bulletins to Dec. 

31, 1897. 62p. Aug. 1898. IOC. 

Bb 18 Best Books of 1898. 28p. May 1899. 5c. 

Bb 19 College Libraries in the United States. 52p. Dec. 1899. loc. 
Bb 20 House Decoration and Furnishing. 2op. Dec. 1899. 5c. 

Volume 2 cloth $1.50; unbound $1.25 
Bb 21 Best Books of 1899. 28p. May 1900. 5c. 

Bb 22 Domestic Economy. i44p. Jan. 1901. 15c. 

Bb 23 Connecticut Local History. ii4p. Dec. 1900. 15c. 

Bb 24 New York Colonial History. 274P. Feb. 1901. J5<7. 

Bb 25 China and the Far East. i22p. Mar. 1901. 20c. 

Bb 26-27 Frobel and the Kindergarten; Reading List for Children’s 
Librarians. 92P. May 1901. ijc. Bh2y separately, jc. 
Bb 28 Maine Local History. 148P. June 1901. 20c. 

Bb 29 Best Books of 1900. 32p. July 1901. loc. 

Bb 30 Class List of a $500 Library Recommended for Schools. Ed. 3. 
82p. July 1901. 15c. 

Volume 3 50c to advance subscribers 

Bb 31 Monopolies and Trusts in America. 38p. Oct. 1901. loc. 
Bb 32 Biography for Young People. 6op. Nov. 1901. lyr. 

Bb 33 French Government Serials. 72p. Jan. 1902. 15c. 

Bb 34 Best Books of 1901. 3op. June 1902. loc. 

Bb 35 Best Books of 1902. 36p. July 1903. loc. 

Bb 36 Cataloguers Reference Books. i86p. Nov. 1903. 2^c. 

Bb 37 Best Books of 1903. 46p. July 1904. loc. 

Bb 38 Ethics. 36p. Ap. 1905. loc. 

Manuscript bibliographies. The following bibliographies are available in 
manuscript for consultation in the library or may be lent under certain 
conditions. 

Phillips Brooks. Hawthorne. Ben Jonson. Charles Kingsley. 
Poems on Lincoln, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan. J. L. Motley. 
R. L. Stevenson. Charles Sumner. Bayard Taylor. John Wesley. 
Members of A. L. A. Lists of Books for Children. Higher Criticism 
of the Old Testament. Christian Art. Church History. Clubs for 
Boys and Working Girls. Single Tax. Tramps and Vagrants. 
Mtmicipal Government. Politics and Party Government in New 
York City. New Philanthropy. Education of Women. Index to 
University Extension Periodicals. English Works on King Arthur 
and the Round Table. Household Economics. Art of the 17th 
Century. Some Famous Cathedrals. 10 Popular Paintings. Pho¬ 
tography, 1880-98. Wagnerian Music Drama. Greek and Latin 
Plays Produced by Schools, Colleges and Universities in the United 
States. Cycling. Angling, 1883-93. Minor American Poetry, 
1860-97. English Literature of Later i8th Century. Fiction for 
Girls. Russian Realists. Graded List of History and Travel. 
English and American Explorations in Africa since 1824. Litera¬ 
ture Relating to the Hudson River. Adirondack Mountains. 
Travels West of the Mississippi prior to 1855. 200 Books in Biog¬ 

raphy for Popular Library. Josephine and the Women of her 
Time. History of the i6th Century. Edinburgh. Missouri in the 
Civil War. Maryland; Colonial and Revolutionary History. Clas¬ 
sified Index to Library Journal, v. 1-12. 


New York State Education Department 


NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY AND HOME EDUCATION 

The State Library includes general, sociology, law, medical, 
education and history libraries, library for blind and the Library 
School. Besides the usual work of a great reference library, its 
field covers compilation of catalogues, bibliographies, indexes, 
reference. lists and other aids and guides for readers not havmg 
direct access to the library, lending books to students and promotion 
of the general library interests of the State. 

As the library was founded for the benefit of the whole State, 
books not readily accessible elsewhere* and not so much used at 
Albany as to make their brief absence from the shelves serious are 
lent under rules guarding against loss or undue detention to : 

1 Any institution in the University. 

2 Any registered public or free library. 

3 Responsible heads of state institutions, departments or courts, 
or to those connected with the state government and needing books 
for use in their official work. 

4 Registered study clubs, extension centers, summer schools or 
other recognized educational agencies. 

5 Any resident of the State making studies or investigations in 
which he needs the assistance of the State Library, provided that 
his responsibility is known to the library, or that he gives satisfac¬ 
tory references or makes a deposit covering the value of the books. 

The State Library recognizes this lending of books to distant 
points as a very important part of its work and aims to be of ser¬ 
vice to the largest number possible of those needing its assistance, 
not only in lending but in recommending the best books and in 
furnishing, through its Home Education Department, devoted 
specially to such work, printed or manuscript aids to those pursu¬ 
ing studies or courses of reading without a teacher. 

The Home Education Department includes promotion, sympa¬ 
thetic assistance and supervision of study clubs, literary clubs, 
summer, vacation, evening and correspondence schools and other 
forms of extension teaching, lecture courses and other agencies for 
promoting and extending more widely opportunities and facilities for 
education to those unable to attend the usual teaching institutions. 

The most potent factors in this work are: (i) putting the best 
reading and pictures within reach of all citizens by public, travel¬ 
ing, house and home libraries and annotated booklists; (2) stimu¬ 
lating formation of study clubs, helping on programs, and lending 
books and pictures. There are now about 600 of these clubs regis¬ 
tered as doing 10 or more weeks consecutive, systematic work on 
some approved specific subject; (3) the aid given in organizing new 
and increasing efficiency of established local libraries by the public 
libraries section through which the State yearly expends about 
$60,000 for the benefit of free libraries.* This section is devoted to 
promoting general library interests of the State and in all prac¬ 
ticable ways assisting communities willing to do their part in 
providing the best reading for their citizens. 








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